Explicit constants for the dextran-sulfate-mediated activation and autoactivation of purified human factor XII (Hageman factor)

Ongoing contact activation in patients with hereditary angioedema

Hereditary angioedema (HAE) is predominantly caused by a deficiency in C1 esterase inhibitor (C1INH) (HAE-C1INH). C1INH inhibits activated factor XII (FXIIa), activated factor XI (FXIa), and kallikrein. In HAE-C1INH patients the thrombotic risk is not increased even though activation of the contact system is poorly regulated. Therefore, we hypothesized that contact activation preferentially leads to kallikrein formation and less to activation of the coagulation cascade in HAE-C1INH patients. We measured the levels of C1INH in complex with activated contact factors in plasma samples of HAE-C1INH patients (N=30, 17 during remission and 13 during acute attack) and healthy controls (N=10). We did not detect differences in enzyme-inhibitor complexes between samples of controls, patients during remission and patients during an acute attack. Reconstitution with C1INH did not change this result. Next, we determined the potential to form enzyme-inhibitory complexes after complete in vitro activation of the plasma samples with a FXII trigger. In all samples, enzyme-C1INH levels increased after activation even in patients during an acute attack. However, the levels of FXIIa-C1INH, FXIa-C1INH and kallikrein-C1INH were at least 52% lower in samples taken during remission and 70% lower in samples taken during attack compared to samples from controls (p<0.05). Addition of C1INH after activation led to an increase in levels of FXIIa-C1INH and FXIa-C1INH (p<0.05), which were still lower than in controls (p<0.05), while the levels of kallikrein-C1INH did not change. These results are consistent with constitutive activation and attenuated depletion of the contact system and show that the ongoing activation of the contact system, which is present in HAE-C1INH patients both during remission and during acute attacks, is not associated with preferential generation of kallikrein over FXIa.

Regulation mechanism of the serine protease activity of plasma hyaluronan binding protein

The inhibitor for the serine protease activity of plasma hyaluronan binding protein (PHBP) was purified from human plasma by polyethylene glycol (PEG) fractionation, diethylaminoethyl (DEAE)-Sephacel ion-exchange chromatography, Phenyl Toyopearl 650M hydrophobic chromatography, Bio Gel A-0.5 m gel-filtration and hydroxyapatite chromatography. The serine protease activity of PHBP was measured with Boc-Phe-Ser-Arg-methylcoumarine amide (MCA) as the synthetic substrate of PHBP. The results of the amino acid sequence analyses of the purified PHBP inhibitor indicated that it was C1 inhibitor of the serpin family. C1 inhibitor formed a complex with PHBP, suggesting that it is the actual inhibitor of PHBP in human plasma. On the other hand, dextran sulfate and phosphatidylethanolamine enhanced the auto-fragmentation and the serine protease activity of pro-PHBP, but kaolin did not. These results suggested that the serine protease activity of PHBP was regulated in a similar manner to that of factor XII of the coagulation system.

Influence of Zn2+ on the kinetic events that contribute to the 500-kDa dextran-sulfate-dependent activation of factor XII (Hageman factor)

The effect of zinc ions on kinetic and equilibrium steps that may contribute to the activation and subsequent autoactivation of human blood coagulation factor XII in the presence of 500-kDa dextran sulfate was studied. To analyze the results, the expression of the overall autoactivation constant that had been established from the model presented in a previous study was used. Comparison of the kinetics obtained at different levels of zinc, which included amounts lower than the residual concentration introduced by NaCl in the incubation mixture, suggested that the addition of Zn2+ up to 5 microM lowered the mean number of sites available for the binding of factor XII to the surface from 220 to 172 and increased the rate of the first-order activation of factor XII by one order of magnitude, from (1.6 +/- 0.4) x 10(-4) s(-1) to (8.0 +/- 0.4) x 10(-4) s(-1) in the presence of 550 nM dextran sulfate. Neither the factor XII/surface dissociation constant (1 microM), the apparent catalytic constant, nor the apparent Michaelis-Menten constant associated with the postulated multi-stage kinetic sequence were affected by the presence of zinc. Most experimental trends induced by the presence of zinc could be successfully interpreted by using the model, thus reinforcing its reliability under different conditions.