The enhancement of streptokinase activation of plasminogen by nonionic detergents and by serum albumin

Non-ionic detergents Nonidet P-40 and Triton X-100 increase enzymatic activity of plasmin

Plasmin is a potent serin protease involved in a variety of biological functions, such as fibrinolysis and tissue remodeling. On performing an in vitro control assay to measure the activity of endogenous plasmin in cell lysates, a stimulatory effect of non-ionic detergent NP-40 on plasmin activity was discovered. Another non-ionic detergent, TX-100, also enhanced plasmin activity, while ionic detergents sodium deoxycholate and sodiem dodecyl sulfate abolished plasmin enzyme activity. Kinetic analysis of plasmin activity in the presence of NP-40 and TX-100 demonstrated an increase in V_max; however, there was no change in K_m values, suggesting that these detergents stimulate plasmin activity in a non-competitive manner. Fibrin plate assay indicates that NP-40 and TX-100 functionally stimulate plasmin activity by showing a dose-dependent increase in fibrinolysis.

Thermodynamics of chitinase partitioning in soy lecithin liposomes and their storage stability

The goal of this study was to define the partitioning behavior of chitinase from Trichoderma spp. in soy lecithin liposomes, using a thermodynamic approach based on the partitioning variation with temperature. An effort has been made to define the liposomes, as well as free and immobilized enzyme stability during storage at 4 and 25 °C. The partition coefficients (K (o/w)) were greater than 1; therefore, the standard free energies of the enzyme transfer were negative, indicating an affinity of the enzymes for encapsulation in liposomes. The enthalpy calculation led to the conclusion that the process is exothermic. The presence of enzyme decreased the liposome storage stability from 70 days to an approximately 20 days at 25 °C and 30 days at 4 °C. Monitoring of the liposome's diameter demonstrated that their size and concentration decreased during storage. The liposome's diameters ranged from 1.06 to 3.30 μm. The higher percentage of liposome corresponded to a diameter range from 1.06 to 1.34 μm. This percentage increased during storage. There were no evidences for liposome fusion process. The stability of immobilized enzyme was increased in comparison with free chitinase.

Comparative Study of Enzyme Activity and Stability of Bovine and Human Plasmins in Electrophoretic Reagents, β-mercaptoethanol, DTT, SDS, Triton X-100, and Urea

Effects of common electrophoretic reagents, reducing agents (beta-mercaptoethanol [BME] and DTT), denaturants (SDS and urea), and non-ionic detergent (Triton X-100), on the activity and stability of bovine plasmin (b-pln) and human plasmin (h-pln) were compared. In the presence of 0.1% SDS (w/v), all reagents completely inhibited two plns, whereas SDS (1%) and urea (1 M) denatured plns recovered their activities after removal of SDS by treatment of 2.5% Triton X-100 (v/v). However, reducing agents (0.1 M of BME and DTT) treated plns did not restore their activities. Based on a fibrin zymogram gel, five (from b-pln) and four (from h-pln) active fragments were resolved. Two plns exhibited unusual stability in concentrated SDS and Triton X-100 (final 10%) and urea (final 6 M) solutions. Two bands, heavy chain-2 (HC-2) and cleaved heavy chain-2 (CHC-2), of b-pln were completely inhibited in 0.5% SDS or 3 M urea, whereas no significant difference was found in h-pln. Interestingly, 50 kDa (cleaved heavy chain-1, CHC-1) of b-pln and two fragments, 26 kDa (light chain, LC) and 29 kDa (microplasmin, MP), of h-pln were increased by SDS in a concentration dependent manner. We also found that the inhibition of SDS against both plns was reversible.

Fibrin solubilizing properties of certain anionic and cationic detergents

The fibrinolytic (fibrin dissolving) properties of several anionic, cationic, nonionic and zwitterionic detergents were assessed in an in vitro fibrin agarose assay. Of the 4 anionic detergents tested, only sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) was found to be fibrinolytic. SDS was fibrinolytic either in the absence or presence of factor XIII. Four other cationic detergents were found to possess similar fibrinolytic properties. These cationic detergents were cetyltrimethylammonium bromide (CTAB), mix alkyltrimethyl ammonium bromide (MTAB), hexadecyltrimethylammonium bromide (HTAB) and cetylpyridium chloride (CPC). The nonionic (digitonin, triton X-100/tween 20) and zeitterionic (CHAPS, zeittergent 3-08) detergents were not fibrinolytic. Detergents mediated fibrinolysis, unlike that of tissue type plasminogen activator and urokinase, was independent of the presence of plasminogen. Non-detergents such as polyethylene glycol and highly charged compounds such as poly-1-lysine and poly-1-glutamic acid were not fibrinolytic. Fibrinolytic activity was observed for SDS and the cationic detergents at concentrations ranging from 0.1-10 percent. The effects of these fibrinolytic detergents (SDS, CTAB, MTAB, HTAB and CPC) on clot formation and on pre-formed clots were then assessed, using freshly drawn human venous blood. Incorporation of these detergents into blood inhibited the formation of clots in a concentration dependent manner. The detergents were also able to dissolve pre-formed clots in a similar fashion. SDS was found to be most potent in these properties.