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Association of thrombin-antithrombin III complex with vitronectin in serum.

Purification of vitronectin by identical procedures from serum instead of plasma results in the coisolation of an additional protein component with mobility on sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE) of 82 kDa. We show that this component is the thrombin-antithrombin III complex based on the following evidence. Similar to a complex constructed using purified thrombin and antithrombin III, the 82-kDa component has a reduced molecular size of 69 kDa if it is not boiled prior to SDS-PAGE. Upon prolonged boiling in SDS it dissociates into 56- and 32-kDa components which co-migrate in SDS-PAGE with purified antithrombin III and thrombin, respectively. The 82- and 56-kDa components react with an antiserum against antithrombin III, and an antiserum prepared against the 82-kDa complex reacts with purified antithrombin III. Thrombin-antithrombin III complex, from either serum or recalcified clotted plasma, bound to vitronectin immobilized on Sepharose or plastic. However, purified antithrombin III which had not reacted with thrombin lacked affinity for vitronectin as did antithrombin III from citrated plasma. Purified antithrombin III acquired affinity for immobilized vitronectin if it was complexed with thrombin or was modified by radioiodination. Binding of vitronectin to antithrombin III coated on plastic was demonstrated using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. These results demonstrate that vitronectin binds thrombin-antithrombin III complexes through a cryptic site in antithrombin III which can be exposed when antithrombin III is radioiodinated, bound to plastic, or complexed with thrombin. Since vitronectin can interact with cells, the binding of vitronectin to the thrombin-antithrombin III complex may serve to facilitate the interaction of this complex with cell surfaces.

Antithrombin III↗

[Alpha-thrombin stimulation of heparin secretion by the peritoneal mast cells in rats].

The interaction of alpha-thrombin with connective tissue-type mast cells (CTMC) purified by Ficoll density gradient centrifugation has been examined. It was demonstrated that exposure of CTMC to polymixin (widely used histamine liberator) (3 mg/ml) induced the release of heparin and histamine. Exposure of CTMC to 10(-11) M alpha-thrombin resulted in increase of heparin secretion by 75.5% in relation to basal level. CTMC which were stimulated by very low concentrations of alpha-thrombin (10(-11)-10(-8) M) can release high level of heparin, but not histamine. We have a suggestion that the thrombin specificity is connected with the additional recognition binding site for high molecular substrates (HMS) distinct from the active centre. Unlike alpha-thrombin which has both the active centre and the recognition site for HMS, beta/gamma-thrombin with catalytic activity but with disrupted recognition site induced the heparin release from mast cells only at higher concentrations than alpha-thrombin. It was revealed that DIP-alpha-thrombin without proteolytic activity was unable to activate mast cells in contrast to alpha-thrombin. We consider that alpha-thrombin induced release of heparin by CTMC account for proteolytic and hormone-like activity enzyme by means of both the active centre and the additional recognition site for HMS.

Animals↗

Thrombin infusion in endotoxin-treated rabbits reduces the plasma levels of plasminogen activator inhibitor: evidence for a protein-C-mediated mechanism.

Plasminogen activator inhibitors (PAIs) play a pivotal role in the control of fibrinolysis. The mechanisms regulating the plasma levels of PAI(s) are still unknown. We report here that the infusion of bovine thrombin (1 U/kg/min, over 60 minutes) in rabbits treated with 0.5 microgram/kg endotoxin (to induce an increase in circulating fast-acting PAI) causes a marked reduction of PAI (50% of preinfusion value), as indicated by functional assay and reverse fibrin autography. Moreover, blood clots prepared from samples obtained after thrombin infusion lysed faster than preinfusion clots when exposed, in vitro, to tissue plasminogen activator. Donor-receiver transfusion experiments showed that the half-life of circulating PAI activity was shorter in thrombin-infused rabbits than in controls (4.1 minutes versus 7.4 minutes), suggesting an accelerated clearance. As expected, thrombin infusion resulted also in activation of protein C (PC). The following observations suggest a close relationship between PC activation and PAI reduction. (1) Infusion of thrombin in rabbits made deficient in vitamin K-dependent plasma proteins by warfarin treatment did not result in modification of PAI activity. (2) Treatment of the latter animals with a barium citrate eluate (PE) of rabbit plasma restored both the anticoagulant and profibrinolytic response to thrombin. (3) Short infusion of thrombin-activated PE (containing activated PC, PCa), but not of unactivated PE, induced both anticoagulation and reduction of PAI activity. In vitro, incubation of PAI-rich rabbit serum with thrombin-activated PE and phospholipids resulted in a progressive disappearance of PAI activity with a t1/2 of 30 minutes. However, this slow inactivation rate does not fully explain the results obtained in vivo. Our data suggest that thrombin infusion in rabbits causes a reduction of circulating PAI activity and that activation of PC is the intermediary mechanism involved in this phenomenon.

Animals↗

von Willebrand factor biosynthesis and partitioning between constitutive and regulated pathways of secretion after thrombin stimulation.

The major part of von Willebrand factor (vWf) synthesized in cultured endothelial cells is secreted constitutively without stimulation and consists of all multimeric forms of vWf. In contrast, stimulation with secretagogues such as thrombin results in the release of vWf from the storage pool, the Weibel-Palade bodies which contain only the largest, most biologically potent multimeric forms of vWf. We wished to determine whether the signal for release of vWf might also function as a signal for replenishment of the vWf by enhancing de novo biosynthesis and if replenishment of the vWf storage pool involved a diversion of newly synthesized vWf from the constitutive pathway to the regulated pathway. vWf mRNA and protein levels in unstimulated human umbilical vein endothelial cells were compared with cells that were briefly stimulated with 1 U/mL thrombin for 15 minutes and then incubated without thrombin for periods up to 72 hours. A comparison was also made between unstimulated cells and cells continuously exposed to thrombin for up to 48 hours. Thrombin stimulation, brief or continuous, had no significant effect on subsequent biosynthesis of vWf protein or vWf-specific mRNA. Since thrombin releases vWf only from the storage pool, we examined the possibility of diversion of newly synthesized vWf from the constitutive pathway to the regulated pathway. Cells were pulse-labeled, incubated for 15 minutes with and without thrombin, chased for various periods in unlabeled media, and briefly restimulated with thrombin. No significant redistribution of vWf between the two pathways was observed as a result of thrombin stimulation for the time periods tested.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Blotting, Northern↗

Thrombin activation of the Na+/H+ exchanger in vascular smooth muscle cells. Evidence for a kinase C-independent pathway which is Ca2+-dependent and pertussis toxin-sensitive.

The mechanism by which human alpha-thrombin activates the Na+/H+ exchanger was studied in cultured neonatal rat aortic smooth muscle cells. Thrombin (0.4 unit/ml) caused a rapid cell acidification followed by a slow, amiloride-inhibitable alkalinization (0.10-0.14 delta pHi above base line). In protein kinase C down-regulated cells (exposed to phorbol 12-myristate 13-acetate for 24 or 72 h), the delta pHi induced by thrombin was only partially attenuated. This protein kinase C-independent activation of the Na+/H+ exchanger was blocked by pertussis toxin (islet activating protein (IAP)), reducing delta pHi by 50%. IAP did not directly inhibit Na+/H+ exchange activity as assessed by the response to intracellular acid loading. Thrombin also stimulated arachidonic acid release by 2.5 fold and inositol trisphosphate release by 6.2 fold. IAP inhibited both of these activities by 50-60%. Intracellular Ca2+ chelation with 120 microM quin2 prevented the thrombin-induced Ca2+ spike, inhibited thrombin-induced arachidonic acid release by 75%, and inhibited thrombin-induced activation of the Na+/H+ exchanger in protein kinase C-deficient cells by 65%. Increased intracellular [Ca2+] alone was not sufficient to activate the Na+/H+ exchanger, since ionomycin (0.3-1.5 microM) failed to elevate cell pH significantly. 10 microM indomethacin inhibited thrombin-induced delta pHi in both control and protein kinase C down-regulated cells by 30-50%. Thus, thrombin can activate the Na+/H+ exchanger in vascular smooth muscle cells by a Ca2+-dependent, pertussis toxin-sensitive pathway which does not involve protein kinase C.

Animals↗

Factor V is activated and cleaved by platelet calpain: comparison with thrombin proteolysis.

Platelets are known to process human factor V during secretion and/or membrane binding. We studied the functional and structural changes produced in human factor V by purified human platelet calpain (calcium-activated thiol protease) and compared the alterations with those induced by thrombin. A maximum increase in coagulant activity of 2.5-fold was observed when factor V (1 U/mL, 33 nmol/L) was incubated with calpain (0.03 U/mL, 2.7 nmol/L) in comparison with a 8.8-fold increment for alpha-thrombin (0.7 U/mL, 8 nmol/L) at 25 degrees C. Thrombin additions to reactions initiated by calpain resulted in further activation comparable to that of thrombin alone, whereas the subsequent addition of calpain had no effect on the extent or pattern of the activation of factor V by thrombin. The cleavage pattern of factor V produced by these two enzymes are distinctly different. Although thrombin activation eventually results in four final components designated C1 (150 kd), D (105 kd), E (71 kd), and F1F2 (71 to 74 kd), calpain yields initial components of 200 kd and 160 kd within one minute. Further digestion of the 200 kd species by calpain gives rise first to a polypeptide of 160 kd that is converted to a 140 kd and a 120 kd species by two minutes with an increase in coagulant activity. Immunoblotting of these fragments with the monoclonal antibody (MoAb) B10 directed to factor V and the thrombin-generated C1 fragment yields results demonstrating a common epitope in these calpain-generated components of 200, 160, 140 and 120 kd. The degradation of the initial 160 kd polypeptide gives rise to polypeptides of 100 and 65 kd, both undetectable on immunoblotting with MoAb B10. The 130, 87, 58, and 48 kd components are of less certain origin. Thus, platelet calpain generates a complex but reproducible cleavage pattern different from thrombin that may explain the partial activation observed. Nevertheless, calpain processing may play a role in early hemostatic reactions involving platelets before the appearance of the first thrombin molecule.

Antibodies, Monoclonal↗

Alpha adrenoceptor antagonists selectively reduce thrombin-stimulated contraction in rabbit arteries.

Thrombin-induced contractions and the influence on them of alpha adrenoceptor antagonists were studied in the rabbit femoral and central ear artery using in vitro methods. Maximum contraction with thrombin represented between 50 and 66% of the maximum arterial response to norepinephrine (NE). The thrombin dose-response relationship was complex and did not have a classic sigmoidal shape, whether the endothelium was functional or not. In the femoral artery, the nonselective alpha adrenoceptor antagonist phentolamine (10(-6) M) and the selective alpha-1 adrenoceptor antagonist prazosin (10(-8) and 10(-7) M) significantly reduced the contractions induced with concentrations of thrombin greater than 6 U X ml-1, and increased the concentration of thrombin required to produce maximal contraction. The selective alpha-2 adrenoceptor antagonist rauwolscine (10(-7) M) did not alter the contraction initiated by thrombin or by NE. In the rabbit ear artery, contraction to thrombin and NE could also be reduced with prazosin but not rauwolscine. Reserpine pretreatment did not alter the magnitude of the thrombin-induced contraction in the femoral and central ear artery, indicating that the response and its sensitivity to alpha adrenoceptor blockade was not related to the release of NE from nerve stores. Neither thrombin (0.1-16 U X ml-1) nor NE (10(-9)-10(-5) M) produced any significant relaxation in partially contracted rabbit femoral arteries, whether or not the endothelium was functional, i.e., exhibiting a 50 to 100% maximum relaxation with methacholine or when either alpha-1, alpha-2 or beta adrenoceptor antagonists were present.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Adrenergic alpha-Antagonists↗

Calcium binding of bovine protein S. Effect of thrombin cleavage and removal of the gamma-carboxyglutamic acid-containing region.

Thrombin cleaves protein S at arginine residues 52 and 70 resulting in loss of cofactor activity and reduced Ca2+ ion binding. After thrombin cleavage the NH2-terminal region containing gamma-carboxyglutamic acid (Gla) is linked to the large COOH-terminal fragment by a disulfide bond. Measurements of the rate of disulfide bond reduction by thioredoxin in intact protein S showed that the disulfide bonds are largely inaccessible to thioredoxin in the presence of Ca2+ ions, whereas in the presence of EDTA apparently all of the disulfide bonds are rapidly reduced. Probing the reactivity of the disulfide bonds in thrombin-modified proteins indicated that the thrombin cleavage induces a conformational change in the protein. After thrombin cleavage of protein S, the domain containing gamma-carboxyglutamic acid could be removed by selective reduction with thioredoxin followed by alkylation of the sulfhydryl groups. Ca2+ ion binding was compared in intact protein S, thrombin-modified protein S, and Gla domainless protein S. The intact protein S bound several Ca2+ ions, and the binding was not saturable. Thrombin-modified protein S, whether intact or with the Gla domain removed by selective reduction, bound two to three Ca2+ ions with a KD of 15-20 microM. The Gla domain in thrombin-modified protein S thus does not contribute significantly to the high affinity Ca2+ ion binding. Thrombin cleavage of protein S may be of physiological importance in the regulation of blood coagulation.

1-Carboxyglutamic Acid↗

Stimulation of mononuclear cell binding to human endothelial cell monolayers by thrombin.

The common occurrence of fibrin deposits in chronic inflammatory lesions suggests a possible role for thrombin in the mobilization of mononuclear cell infiltrates. For this reason, the effect of thrombin on the binding of mononuclear cells to endothelial cells (EC) was investigated. Incubation of confluent monolayers of human umbilical vein endothelial cells with thrombin markedly enhanced EC adhesiveness for both T lymphocytes and U937 cells (a monocyte-like cell line) in a time- and dose-dependent fashion. This effect was EC specific: 1) treatment of the T cells or the U937 cells with thrombin did not stimulate their adherence to EC, and 2) treatment of human foreskin fibroblasts with thrombin did not stimulate their inherently low adhesiveness for T cells. Fixation of EC monolayers with paraformaldehyde after pre-incubation with thrombin did not affect the increased adhesiveness for T cells. mAb against the LFA-1 antigen (mAb 60.3 (anti-CD18) or mAb TS1/22 (anti-CD11a), which inhibit the binding of T cells to unstimulated EC, failed to block the increased adhesion induced by thrombin, indicating that the increased binding induced by thrombin is similar to that induced by IL-1 and TNF, which showed similar resistance. These results suggest that thrombin may have a role in the extravascular emigration of mononuclear cells from post-capillary venules by virtue of its ability to stimulate the adhesiveness of EC for both lymphocytes and monocytes.

Antibodies, Monoclonal↗

[Affinity chromatography of human gamma-thrombin on fibrin-agarose].

gamma-Thrombin was produced during autolysis or limited proteolysis of coagulant gamma-thrombin. This thrombin form loses its ability to coagulate fibrinogen but preserves the esterase and amidase activity on the low-molecular-weight synthetic substrates. This evidences for the integrity of the active site of gamma-thrombin and for the integrity break of the enzyme molecule region responsible for the binding with fibrinogen. gamma-Thrombin with the minimal coagulating activity, possessing high esterase and amidase activity is obtained. Fibrin-agarose possessing affinity to gamma-thrombin and specifically not binding gamma-thrombin was used to remove admixtures of the coagulant gamma-thrombin from the preparations of gamma-thrombin obtained during the enzyme autolysis.

Catalysis↗

Transient kinetics of heparin-catalyzed protease inactivation by antithrombin III. Linkage of protease-inhibitor-heparin interactions in the reaction with thrombin.

Heparin (H) was previously shown to accelerate the inactivation of alpha-thrombin (T) by antithrombin III (AT) primarily by promoting the initial binding of thrombin and AT in a ternary T.AT.H complex intermediate without significantly influencing the subsequent product formation step (Olson, S. T., and Shore, J. D. (1982) J. Biol. Chem. 257, 14891-14895). In the present study, the protein-heparin interactions which contribute to the assembly of the ternary complex intermediate and their linkage were quantitated by equilibrium binding and stopped-flow kinetic studies at pH 7.4, I 0.3, 25 degrees C, using p-aminobenzamidine (P) as a fluorescence probe. Equilibrium binding studies of the AT.H and T.H binary complex interactions monitored by the 40% enhancement in AT fluorescence or the 16-18% quenching of thrombin-bound p-aminobenzamidine fluorescence, respectively, indicated a 100-fold greater affinity of AT for heparin (KAT,H 0.23 microM) as compared to thrombin for heparin (KT,H 35-42 microM). Consistent with this large difference in affinities, rapid kinetic studies indicated that assembly of the ternary complex occurred predominantly as a bimolecular association between the AT.H binary complex and free thrombin. Thus, under pseudo-first order conditions ([AT]o, [H]o much greater than [T]o much less than [P]o), the observed thrombin inactivation rate constant (kobs) exhibited a saturable dependence on [AT]o or [H]o when [H]o much less than KT,H, reflecting a KAT,H (0.25 microM) similar to that directly determined by equilibrium binding. Moreover, competitive inhibition of the reaction by T.H binary complexes was indicated from the hyperbolic decrease in kobs produced by heparin with either high or low affinity for AT or active-site blocked thrombin at concentrations comparable to KT,H. This behavior was consistent with values of KT,H (27-51 microM) similar to those determined directly from equilibrium binding measurements. Comparison of the affinities of the binary protein-heparin interactions with the affinity of thrombin for AT.H complex in the ternary complex measured previously, indicated that the affinity of either protein for heparin was enhanced about 10-fold by the prior binding of the other protein to heparin. This linkage of the protein-heparin interactions implies that the ternary complex will be assembled at thrombin, AT, and heparin concentrations considerably lower than those predicted from previous reaction models which fail to account for this linkage.

Algorithms↗

Human gamma-thrombin: lack of correlation between a platelet functional response and glycoprotein V hydrolysis.

The ability of purified human gamma-thrombin to stimulate platelet function was related to its capacity to degrade GP V. Compared to alpha-thrombin, much greater amounts of gamma-thrombin were required to induce platelet aggregation; and this also applied to secretion from dense bodies, alpha-granules and lysosomal granules. Platelet stimulation by gamma-thrombin was additionally characterized by the presence of a lag-phase. Platelets with 3H-labelled surface glycoproteins showed the same functional response to both alpha- and gamma-thrombin as unlabelled platelets. But while threshold levels of alpha-thrombin induced little GP V hydrolysis confirming McGowan et al. (1), amounts of gamma-thrombin which induced substantial degradation (e.g. 8.3 nM degraded 36% of platelet GP V in 3 min) were unable to sustain either platelet aggregation or secretion. These results suggest that protein-binding regions remote from the catalytic site of alpha-thrombin are more important for platelet activation than GP V hydrolysis. They also provide further support to the argument that GP V hydrolysis may not be the essential trigger of platelet activation by thrombin.

Blood Platelets↗

Formation of activated protein C and inactivation of cell-bound thrombin by antithrombin III at the surface of cultured vascular endothelial cells--a comparative study of two anticoagulant mechanisms.

Intact vascular endothelium provides several anticoagulant mechanisms for the maintenance of blood fluidity and the prevention of thrombosis. High-affinity binding of proteolytic active thrombin to thrombomodulin at the cell surface effectively facilitates the activation of the potent anticoagulant protein C (PC). Rapid inactivation of cell-bound thrombin by antithrombin III (ATIII) accelerated by heparin-like structures represents another anticoagulant mechanism. In the present investigation the interference of these two events has been studied. Inhibition of thrombin bound to cultured bovine aortic endothelial cells (BAEC) by ATIII and the effect of the inhibitor on the activation of PC has been studied using purified components of bovine origin. Exposure of thrombin (45 nM) with prewashed confluent BAEC-monolayers for 10 min resulted in the binding of 12% thrombin. The subsequent incubation with various concentrations (0.3-2.4 microM) of ATIII revealed no acceleration of the inhibition of thrombin by ATIII at the endothelial cell surface when compared with the uncatalyzed fluid phase reaction. However, compared with the uncatalyzed fluid phase reaction. However, heparin added to the reaction mixture substantially increased the inactivation of cell-bound thrombin. Modified ATIII that did not possess heparin cofactor activity presented a comparable inactivation pattern for endothelial cell bound-thrombin as native ATIII indicating that heparin-like structures did not accelerate the interaction. When PC (32 nM) and ATIII (1.8 microM) competed for thrombin bound to BAEC, activation of PC was demonstrated within the initial 6 min of the incubation amounting to 62% of the activated PC formation in the absence of ATIII.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Animals↗

Proteolytic inactivation of blood coagulation factor IX by thrombin.

Coagulation factor IX is a vitamin K-dependent glycoprotein that circulates in blood as a precursor of a serine protease. Incubation of human factor IX with human alpha-thrombin resulted in a time and enzyme concentration-dependent cleavage of factor IX yielding a molecule composed of a heavy chain (mol wt 50,000) and a doublet light chain (mol wt 10,000). The proteolysis of factor IX by thrombin was significantly inhibited by physiological levels of calcium ions. Under nondenaturing conditions, the heavy and light chains of thrombin-cleaved factor IX remained strongly associated, but these chains were readily separated by gel filtration in the presence of denaturants. Amino-terminal sequence analyses of the isolated heavy and light chains of thrombin-cleaved human factor IX indicated that thrombin cleaved peptide bonds at Arg327-Val328 and Arg338-Ser339 in this molecule. Comparable cleavages were observed in bovine factor IX by bovine thrombin and occurred at Arg319-Ser320 and Arg339-Ser340. Essentially, a complete loss of factor IX procoagulant activity was associated with its cleavage by thrombin. Furthermore, thrombin-cleaved factor IX neither developed coagulant activity after treatment with factor XIa nor inhibited the coagulant activity of native factor IX. These data indicate that thrombin cleaves factor IX near its active site serine residue, rendering it incapable of activating factor X. Whether or not this reaction occurs in vivo is unknown.

Amino Acid Sequence↗

Thrombin binding to thrombasthenic platelets.

Platelets from two patients with Glanzmann's thrombasthenia showed decreased iodination of surface glycoproteins GPIIb and GPIII. Despite these changes, the binding of [125I] alpha-thrombin to the thrombasthenic platelets was normal. Binding was linear up to a thrombin concentration of 0.1 to 0.2 U/ml, at which point a change in the slope of the binding curve was observed. At lower concentrations of thrombin, 1,000 to 2,000 molecules of thrombin were bound per platelet, with an apparent Kdiss of 0.1 to 0.3 U/ml. With high concentrations of thrombin, thrombasthenic platelets bound 30,000 to 65,000 molecules of thrombin per platelet at saturation, with an apparent Kdiss of 5 to 10 U/ml. The release of [14C]serotonin by thrombasthenic platelets as a function of thrombin concentration was also similar to release by normal platelets. These studies indicate that the receptor(s) for thrombin on the plasma membrane of platelets from patients with Glanzmann's disease are intact and that membrane glycoproteins GPIIb and GPIII play little or no role in either the initial binding of thrombin to platelets or the transmission of this surface stimulus to release-inducing mechanisms.

Adult↗

Regulation of vitamin K-dependent protein S. Inactivation by thrombin.

Thrombin treatment of the vitamin K-dependent protein S resulted in the loss of the activated protein C cofactor activity associated with protein S. The addition of phospholipid vesicles inhibited the inactivation. Thrombin treatment did not alter the molecular weight of the native protein. However, upon reduction, a peptide of approximately 3000 daltons was released from the treated protein. The interaction between calcium and protein S was reduced by thrombin treatment. When the calcium interaction was determined by the quenching of the intrinsic fluorescence of protein S, thrombin treatment appeared to inhibit the interaction between calcium and the protein. When the calcium interaction was observed by measuring the effect on the electrophoretic mobility of the protein, thrombin treatment reduced the interaction between calcium and protein S. However, the effect of thrombin treatment on the interaction between calcium and protein S was less than observed by the fluorescent method. This observation suggests that fluorescence quenching may be a result of a structural change induced by calcium binding. Thrombin treatment of protein S appears to uncouple the calcium binding from the structural change. In addition, the interaction between protein S and phospholipid vesicles was reduced by thrombin treatment. These results suggest that the thrombin conversion of protein S into a two-chain protein causes the loss of a calcium-induced change in protein structure, loss of the lipid-binding properties, and the loss of cofactor activity.

Animals↗

Reaction of antithrombin III with thrombin bound to the vascular endothelium. Analysis in a recirculating perfused rabbit heart preparation.

A recirculating perfused rabbit heart preparation is used to study the reaction of antithrombin III (ATIII) with thrombin bound to the surface of the microvascular endothelium. Addition of ATIII to the system after thrombin is equilibrated with its binding sites results in inhibition of the enzyme as measured by disappearance of thrombin enzymatic activity from the circulation or by appearance of 125I-thrombin-ATIII complexes. The rate of inhibition of thrombin as reflected by either method is independent of the bound state of thrombin. Comparable results are obtained with ATIII modified at a single tryptophan residue. This modification does not alter the reaction rate of ATIII with thrombin but abolishes the capacity of heparin or heparan sulfate to enhance the reaction rate. From the kinetics and structural studies and the fit of the kinetics to a theoretical model relating binding equilibrium to thrombin inhibition, it is concluded that glycosaminoglycans are not involved in the reversible, high affinity, high capacity binding of thrombin to the vascular endothelium.

Animals↗

Thrombin-mediated release of factor VIII antigen from human umbilical vein endothelial cells in culture.

We have examined the effects of purified human alpha-thrombin on factor VIII antigen (FVIII-Ag) release by human umbilical vein endothelial cells in culture. Alpha-thrombin induced a time and dose-dependent release of FVIII-Ag into supernatant medium. Alpha-thrombin-mediated FVIII-Ag release was not dependent on protein synthesis and was observed in both serum-free and serum-containing media. FVIII-Ag release, however, was prevented when the serine esterase activity of thrombin was inhibited. Pretreatment of human endothelial cells with alpha-thrombin, but not diisofluorophosphate-thrombin, prevented subsequent FVIII-Ag release by alpha-thrombin. Thrombin-mediated FVII-Ag release was not associated with significant 51Cr release from prelabeled endothelial monolayers. We conclude that alpha-thrombin induces release of preformed FVIII-Ag from human umbilical vein endothelial cells by a receptor-independent, nonlytic mechanism requiring serine esterase activity.

Antigens↗