Platelet responses to pharmacological and physiological interventions in middle-aged men with different habitual physical activity levels

The current guidelines following an acute coronary syndrome recommend dual-antiplatelet therapy (DAPT) (aspirin plus a P2Y₁₂ antagonist) alongside lifestyle modifications, including more regular physical activity. It is currently unknown whether regular exercise affects the pharmacology of DAPT.

AIM

To explore how exercise-induced improvements in vascular and platelet function affect the efficacy of DAPT, in a cross-sectional study of men with different physical activity levels (training status).

METHODS

A total of 42 healthy, normal-weight, middle-aged men were divided into 3 groups: untrained, moderately trained and well-trained. Their platelet reactivity (agonist-induced % aggregation) was investigated in platelet-rich plasma at rest and after inhibition with aspirin and ticagrelor and/or prostacyclin and nitric oxide added to the blood in vitro, and after physiological tests of vascular function; passive movement of the leg, flow-mediated dilation and one-leg knee-extensor exercise. Vascular function of the femoral artery (changes in arterial blood flow) was assessed by ultrasound Doppler.

RESULTS

Platelets from the well-trained subjects had lower basal reactivity, a higher sensitivity to the anti-aggregatory effects of prostacyclin and were more potently inhibited by DAPT compared to the untrained subjects. The moderately trained and well-trained subjects had a superior vascular function compared to untrained subjects, and their platelets were more inhibited by the passive movement, flow-mediated dilation and one-leg knee-extensor exercise.

DISCUSSION

A habitually active lifestyle leads to an increased platelet sensitivity to pharmacological and physiological platelet inhibitors. We suggest that physical activity habits (training status) should be considered when personalizing and optimizing antithrombotic treatment strategies.

Aerobic exercise training lowers platelet reactivity and improves platelet sensitivity to prostacyclin in pre- and postmenopausal women

Essentials It is unknown how regular exercise affects platelet function after menopause. We studied the effect of 3-months of high-intensity exercise in pre- and postmenopausal women. Platelet sensitivity to the inhibitory effect of arterially infused prostacyclin was increased. Reduced basal platelet reactivity was seen in the premenopausal women only.

SUMMARY

Background The risk of atherothrombotic events increases after the menopause. Regular physical activity has been shown to reduce platelet reactivity in younger women, but it is unknown how regular exercise affects platelet function after the menopause. Objectives To examine the effects of regular aerobic exercise in late premenopausal and recent postmenopausal women by testing basal platelet reactivity and platelet sensitivity to prostacyclin and nitric oxide. Methods Twenty-five sedentary, but healthy, late premenopausal and 24 matched recently postmenopausal women, mean (95% confidence interval) 49.1 (48.2-49.9) and 53.7 (52.5-55.0) years old, participated in an intervention study: 3-month high-intensity supervised aerobic spinning-cycle training (1 h, × 3/week). Basal platelet reactivity was analyzed in platelet-rich plasma from venous blood as agonist-induced % aggregation. In a subgroup of 13 premenopausal and 14 postmenopausal women, platelet reactivity was tested ex vivo after femoral arterial infusion of prostacyclin, acetylcholine, a cyclooxygenase inhibitor, and after acute one-leg knee extensor exercise. Results Basal platelet reactivity (%aggregation) to TRAP-6 (1 μm) was higher in the postmenopausal, 59% (50-68), than the premenopausal women, 45% (35-55). Exercise training reduced basal platelet reactivity to collagen (1 μg mL-1 ) in the premenopausal women only: from 63% (55-71%) to 51% (41-62%). After the training intervention, platelet aggregation was more inhibited by the arterial prostacyclin infusion and the acute exercise in both premenopausal and postmenopausal women. Conclusions These results highlight previously unknown cardioprotective aspects of regular aerobic exercise in premenopausal and postmenopausal women, improving their regulation of platelet reactivity through an increased platelet sensitivity to prostacyclin, which may counterbalance the increased atherothrombotic risk associated with the menopause.

Arabinogalactan-proteins and the research challenges for these enigmatic plant cell surface proteoglycans

Arabinogalactan-proteins (AGPs) are complex glycoconjugates that are commonly found at the cell surface and in secretions of plants. Their location and diversity of structures have made them attractive targets as modulators of plant development but definitive proof of their direct role(s) in biological processes remains elusive. Here we overview the current state of knowledge on AGPs, identify key challenges impeding progress in the field and propose approaches using modern bioinformatic, (bio)chemical, cell biological, molecular and genetic techniques that could be applied to redress these gaps in our knowledge.

O-glycosylated cell wall proteins are essential in root hair growth

Root hairs are single cells that develop by tip growth and are specialized in the absorption of nutrients. Their cell walls are composed of polysaccharides and hydroxyproline-rich glycoproteins (HRGPs) that include extensins (EXTs) and arabinogalactan-proteins (AGPs). Proline hydroxylation, an early posttranslational modification of HRGPs that is catalyzed by prolyl 4-hydroxylases (P4Hs), defines the subsequent O-glycosylation sites in EXTs (which are mainly arabinosylated) and AGPs (which are mainly arabinogalactosylated). We explored the biological function of P4Hs, arabinosyltransferases, and EXTs in root hair cell growth. Biochemical inhibition or genetic disruption resulted in the blockage of polarized growth in root hairs and reduced arabinosylation of EXTs. Our results demonstrate that correct O-glycosylation on EXTs is essential for cell-wall self-assembly and, hence, root hair elongation in Arabidopsis thaliana.

A putative Arabidopsis thaliana glycosyltransferase, At4g01220, which is closely related to three plant cell wall-specific xylosyltransferases, is differentially expressed spatially and temporally

Plant cell wall polysaccharides are amongst the most complex, heterogeneous and abundant bio-molecules on earth. This makes the biosynthetic enzymes, namely the glycosyltransferases and polysaccharide synthases, important research targets in plant science and biotechnology. As an initial step to characterize At4g01220, a putative Arabidopsis thaliana encoding glycosyltransferases in CAZy GT-family-77 that is similar to three known xylosyltransferases involved in the biosynthesis of the pectic polysaccharide, rhamnogalacturonan II, we conducted an expression analysis. In transgenic Arabidopsis thaliana plants containing a fusion between the At4g01220 promoter and the gusA reporter gene we found the expression to be spatially and developmentally regulated. Analysis of Nicotiana benthamiana transfected with the At2g01220::YFP fusion protein revealed that the fusion protein resided in a Brefeldin A-sensitive compartment consistent with a sub-cellular location in the Golgi apparatus. In addition, in silico expression analysis from the Genevestigator database revealed that At4g01220 was up-regulated upon treatment with isoxaben, an inhibitor of cellulose synthesis, which, together with a co-expression analysis that identified a number of plant cell wall co-related biosynthetic genes, suggests involvement in cell wall biosynthesis with pectin being a prime candidate. The data presented provide insights into the expression, sub-cellular location and regulation of At4g01220 under various conditions and may help elucidate its specific function.

Functional characterisation of a putative rhamnogalacturonan II specific xylosyltransferase

An Arabidopsis thaliana gene, At1g56550, was expressed in Pichia pastoris and the recombinant protein was shown to catalyse transfer of D-xylose from UDP-alpha-D-xylose onto methyl alpha-L-fucoside. The product formed was shown by 1D and 2D 1H NMR spectroscopy to be Me alpha-D-Xyl-(1,3)-alpha-L-Fuc, which is identical to the proposed target structure in the A-chain of rhamnogalacturonan II. Chemically synthesized methyl L-fucosides derivatized by methyl groups on either the 2-, 3- or 4 position were tested as acceptor substrates but only methyl 4-O-methyl-alpha-L-fucopyranoside acted as an acceptor, although to a lesser extent than methyl alpha-L-fucoside. At1g56550 is suggested to encode a rhamnogalacturonan II specific xylosyltransferase.

Identification of a novel group of putative Arabidopsis thaliana beta-(1,3)-galactosyltransferases

To begin biochemical and molecular studies on the biosynthesis of the type II arabinogalactan chains on arabinogalactan-proteins (AGPs), we adopted a bioinformatic approach to identify and systematically characterise the putative galactosyltransferases (GalTs) responsible for synthesizing the beta-(1,3)-Gal linkage from CAZy GT-family-31 from Arabidopsis thaliana. These analyses confirmed that 20 members of the GT-31 family contained domains/motifs typical of biochemically characterised beta-(1,3)-GTs from mammalian systems. Microarray data confirm that members of this family are expressed throughout all tissues making them likely candidates for the assembly of the ubiquitously found AGPs. One member, At1g77810, was selected for further analysis including location studies that confirmed its presence in the Golgi and preliminary enzyme substrate specificity studies that demonstrated beta-(1,3)-GalT activity. This bioinformatic/molecular study of CAZy GT-family-31 was validated by the recent report of Strasser et al. (Plant Cell 19:2278-2292, 2007) that another member of this family (At1g26810; GALT1) encodes a beta-(1,3)-GalT involved in the biosynthesis of the Lewis a epitope of N-glycans in Arabidopsis thaliana.

Molecular characterization of two Arabidopsis thaliana glycosyltransferase mutants, rra1 and rra2, which have a reduced residual arabinose content in a polymer tightly associated with the cellulosic wall residue

Two putative glycosyltransferases in Arabidopsis thaliana, designated reduced residual arabinose-1 and -2 (RRA1 and RRA2), are characterized at the molecular level. Both genes are classified in CAZy GT-family-77 and are phylogenetically related to putative glycosyltranferases of Chlamydomonas reinhardtii. The expression pattern of the two genes was analyzed by semi-quantitative RT-PCR using mRNA extracted from various organs of bolting Arabidopsis thaliana plants. In addition, promoter::gusA analysis of transgenic Arabidopsis thaliana containing a fusion between either the RRA-1 or -2 promoter fragment and the gusA reporter gene showed that whereas the RRA1 promoter was primarily active in the apical meristem, the expression pattern of the RRA2 promoter was more diverse but also highly active in the meristematic region. In addition, T-DNA mutant insertion lines of both RRA-1 and -2, were identified and characterized at the molecular and biochemical level. Monosaccharide compositional analyses of cell wall material isolated from the meristematic region showed a ca. 20% reduction in the arabinose content in the insoluble/undigested cell wall residue after enzymatic removal of xyloglucan and pectic polysaccharides. These data indicate that both RRA-1 and -2 play a role in the arabinosylation of cell wall component(s).

Arabidopsis thaliana RGXT1 and RGXT2 encode Golgi-localized (1,3)-alpha-D-xylosyltransferases involved in the synthesis of pectic rhamnogalacturonan-II

Two homologous plant-specific Arabidopsis thaliana genes, RGXT1 and RGXT2, belong to a new family of glycosyltransferases (CAZy GT-family-77) and encode cell wall (1,3)-alpha-d-xylosyltransferases. The deduced amino acid sequences contain single transmembrane domains near the N terminus, indicative of a type II membrane protein structure. Soluble secreted forms of the corresponding proteins expressed in insect cells showed xylosyltransferase activity, transferring d-xylose from UDP-alpha-d-xylose to l-fucose. The disaccharide product was hydrolyzed by alpha-xylosidase, whereas no reaction was catalyzed by beta-xylosidase. Furthermore, the regio- and stereochemistry of the methyl xylosyl-fucoside was determined by nuclear magnetic resonance to be an alpha-(1,3) linkage, demonstrating the isolated glycosyltransferases to be (1,3)-alpha-d-xylosyltransferases. This particular linkage is only known in rhamnogalacturonan-II, a complex polysaccharide essential to vascular plants, and is conserved across higher plant families. Rhamnogalacturonan-II isolated from both RGXT1 and RGXT2 T-DNA insertional mutants functioned as specific acceptor molecules in the xylosyltransferase assay. Expression of RGXT1- and RGXT2-enhanced green fluorescent protein constructs in Arabidopsis revealed that both fusion proteins were targeted to a Brefeldin A-sensitive compartment and also colocalized with the Golgi marker dye BODIPY TR ceramide, consistent with targeting to the Golgi apparatus. Taken together, these results suggest that RGXT1 and RGXT2 encode Golgi-localized (1,3)-alpha-d-xylosyltransferases involved in the biosynthesis of pectic rhamnogalacturonan-II.

A complementary bioinformatics approach to identify potential plant cell wall glycosyltransferase-encoding genes

Plant cell wall (CW) synthesizing enzymes can be divided into the glycan (i.e. cellulose and callose) synthases, which are multimembrane spanning proteins located at the plasma membrane, and the glycosyltransferases (GTs), which are Golgi localized single membrane spanning proteins, believed to participate in the synthesis of hemicellulose, pectin, mannans, and various glycoproteins. At the Carbohydrate-Active enZYmes (CAZy) database where e.g. glucoside hydrolases and GTs are classified into gene families primarily based on amino acid sequence similarities, 415 Arabidopsis GTs have been classified. Although much is known with regard to composition and fine structures of the plant CW, only a handful of CW biosynthetic GT genes-all classified in the CAZy system-have been characterized. In an effort to identify CW GTs that have not yet been classified in the CAZy database, a simple bioinformatics approach was adopted. First, the entire Arabidopsis proteome was run through the Transmembrane Hidden Markov Model 2.0 server and proteins containing one or, more rarely, two transmembrane domains within the N-terminal 150 amino acids were collected. Second, these sequences were submitted to the SUPERFAMILY prediction server, and sequences that were predicted to belong to the superfamilies NDP-sugartransferase, UDP-glycosyltransferase/glucogen-phosphorylase, carbohydrate-binding domain, Gal-binding domain, or Rossman fold were collected, yielding a total of 191 sequences. Fifty-two accessions already classified in CAZy were discarded. The resulting 139 sequences were then analyzed using the Three-Dimensional-Position-Specific Scoring Matrix and mGenTHREADER servers, and 27 sequences with similarity to either the GT-A or the GT-B fold were obtained. Proof of concept of the present approach has to some extent been provided by our recent demonstration that two members of this pool of 27 non-CAZy-classified putative GTs are xylosyltransferases involved in synthesis of pectin rhamnogalacturonan II (J. Egelund, B.L. Petersen, A. Faik, M.S. Motawia, C.E. Olsen, T. Ishii, H. Clausen, P. Ulvskov, and N. Geshi, unpublished data).