Interaction of Heparin with Lipoproteins – Role of the Complex in the Inactivation of Thrombin and Plasmin

Heparin forms a complex with human low density lipoprotein (LDL) in the presence of Ca2+. The complex is dissociable by 0.5 M NaCI. Thrombin and plasmin causes the dissociation of the LDL-heparin complex, whereas factor Xa does not. Heparin, complexed with LDL, retains its enhancing effect on the rate of thrombin and plasmin inactivation by antithrombin III. LDL isolated from the plasma of persons with different pathological conditions did not alter the rate of thrombin inactivation by antithrombin III either in the absence or in the presence of heparin. Heparin seems to maintain its biological functions when it is in a complex with LDL.

Role of fibroblast growth factor receptors (FGFR) and FGFR like-1 (FGFRL1) in mesenchymal stromal cell differentiation to osteoblasts and adipocytes

Fibroblast growth factors (FGF) and their receptors (FGFRs) regulate many developmental processes including differentiation of mesenchymal stromal cells (MSC). We developed two MSC lines capable of differentiating to osteoblasts and adipocytes and studied the role of FGFRs in this process. We identified FGFR2 and fibroblast growth factor receptor like-1 (FGFRL1) as possible actors in MSC differentiation with gene microarray and qRT-PCR. FGFR2 and FGFRL1 mRNA expression strongly increased during MSC differentiation to osteoblasts. FGF2 treatment, resulting in downregulation of FGFR2, or silencing FGFR2 expression with siRNAs inhibited osteoblast differentiation. During adipocyte differentiation expression of FGFR1 and FGFRL1 increased and was down-regulated by FGF2. FGFR1 knockdown inhibited adipocyte differentiation. Silencing FGFR2 and FGFR1 in MSCs was associated with decreased FGFRL1 expression in osteoblasts and adipocytes, respectively. Our results suggest that FGFR1 and FGFR2 regulate FGFRL1 expression. FGFRL1 may mediate or modulate FGFR regulation of MSC differentiation together with FGFR2 in osteoblastic and FGFR1 in adipocytic lineage.

A low-Mr chemoattractant for vascular endothelial cells

The formation of new blood vessels occurs by sprouting from previously existing microvasculature. The process involved directed migration of the vascular endothelial cells towards chemical signals released from the target tissue. We have used the Boyden chemotaxis chamber method to identify chemotactic signals for fetal bovine vascular endothelial cells. Human placenta organ cultures produce a high-Mr chemoattractant for the endothelial cells from which a low-Mr factor can be liberated with trichloroacetic acid treatment and ethanol extraction. This activity was isolated from extracts of human placenta using Sephadex LH-20, Amberlite XAD-2, and silica gel thin-layer chromatography. The Mr of the factor is less than 400, it is lipophilic and resistant to proteolytic enzymes. The factor induces chemotactic migration of both aortic endothelial cells and capillary endothelial cells from the retina, but has no effect on fibroblasts or leukocytes suggesting a specific function of the compound for the vascular endothelial cells.

Interaction of plasmin with endothelial cells

Interaction of human plasmin with a monolayer culture of mini-pig aortic endothelial cells was studied by using the 125I-labelled enzyme. The binding of plasmin was time- and concentration-dependent. Equilibrium between bound and free enzyme was obtained within 90s, and Scatchard analysis indicated a high- and a low-affinity population of binding sites of approx. 1.24 X 10(4) sites/cell having a Kd of 1.4 X 10(-9) M and 7.2 X 10(4) sites/cell with a Kd of 2 X 10(-8) M respectively. Plasmin, bound to cell, was spontaneously released within 2 min, suggesting a rapid equilibrium. Chemical modification of the enzyme with phenylmethanesulphonyl fluoride or pyridoxal 5'-phosphate revealed that neither the active centre nor the heparin-binding site of plasmin was involved in the interaction with the endothelial cell. In terms of endothelial-cell receptors, the binding sites of cells for plasmin and thrombin were different: the two enzymes did not compete with each other, and the pretreatment of cells with neuraminidase or chondroitin ABC lyase resulted in a 50% decrease of thrombin or plasmin binding respectively. Arachidonic acid incorporated into phospholipids of the cell was released by plasmin, but a change in the rate of prostacyclin formation was not measurable. The interaction of plasmin with endothelial cells seems to be specific in the fibrinolytic system, since plasminogen did not bind to these cells under similar conditions.

Interaction of heparin with lipoproteins - role of the complex in the inactivation of thrombin and plasmin

Heparin forms a complex with human low density lipoprotein (LDL) in the presence of Ca2+. The complex is dissociable by 0.5 M NaCl. Thrombin and plasmin causes the dissociation of the LDL-heparin complex, whereas factor Xa does not. Heparin, complexed with LDL, retains its enhancing effect on the rate of thrombin and plasmin inactivation by antithrombin III. LDL isolated from the plasma of persons with different pathological conditions did not alter the rate of thrombin inactivation by antithrombin III either in the absence or in the presence of heparin. Heparin seems to maintain its biological functions when it is in a complex with LDL.

Mechanism of thrombin binding to endothelial cells

The interaction of human alpha-thrombin with mini-pig aortic endothelial cells was studied using 125I-labeled enzyme. Equilibrium between bound and free thrombin was attained within 1 min, and the Klotz-Hunston equations indicated two populations of binding sites. Approximately 30,000 sites/cell belonged to the high-affinity class with a Kd of about 3 x 10(-8) M. Modification of two lysine residues of thrombin with pyridoxal 5'-phosphate (PLP2-thrombin) destroyed the high-affinity binding and about three-fourths of the low-affinity bindings. When the lysine residue of thrombin involved in heparin binding was protected with heparin against chemical modification (PLP-thrombin), the modified enzyme remained similar to the native one with respect to cellular binding, with some loss of low-affinity binding only. Heparin, in a tenfold molar excess to enzyme, inhibited the binding of the native as well as the PLP-thrombin, whereas it did not influence the interaction between PLP2-thrombin and the cell. Since heparin might interfere with both the enzyme and the cell, the binding of heparin to endothelial cells was also examined. The results revealed that 3H-heparin also bound to cells. This binding was characterized by a Kd of 3 x 10(-7) M, approximately 10(6) sites/cell. Furthermore, thrombin bound to endothelial cells was released by antithrombin III. On the basis of these and other data in the literature, a model is proposed for the mechanism of the binding of thrombin to endothelial cells.

Kinetic analysis of the heparin-enhanced plasmin--antithrombin III reaction. Apparent catalytic role of heparin

Inactivation of plasmin by a 3-4-fold molar excess of antithrombin III follows pseudo-first-order kinetics and the apparent rate constants are proportional to the concentration of the inhibitor. Heparin accelerates the inactivation reaction without changing its pseudo-first-order character, and the apparent rate constants are also proportional to the concentration of the polysaccharide. Heparin results in a minimum 20-fold rate enhancement of the reaction between plasmin and antithrombin III when the concentrations of heparin and plasmin are approx. 0.5mum and 1mum respectively. Heparin at a molar concentration well below that of plasmin still accelerates the reaction: one molecule of the polysaccharide is able to facilitate the inactivation of about 100 molecules of plasmin. Heparin must bind to plasmin to accelerate the plasmin-antithrombin III reaction, since the modification of four to five lysine residues of the enzyme inhibits the rate-enhancement effect of heparin and the dissociation of heparin-plasmin complex decreases the inactivation rate of plasmin. Increasing the concentration of antithrombin III, at a constant amount of heparin, results in increase of the inactivation rate. By contrast, the effect of increasing the amount of plasmin in the presence of constant amount of heparin and antithrombin III is such that higher plasmin-to-heparin ratios are associated with lower rates of inactivation. It seems, therefore, that to obtain ;optimal' conditions for fast enzyme inactivation, the amount of heparin should be matched to plasmin rather than to antithrombin III. Arrhenius plots of the plasmin-antithrombin III reaction are linear both in the absence and presence of heparin, at concentrations of 1 or 2mug/ml, over a range of 26K. Under these experimental conditions, heparin increases activation entropy. The findings show that heparin seems to fulfil some criteria that are characteristic for biological catalysis: binding, reaction-rate enhancement (increasing activation entropy), recycling of heparin (effectiveness of non-stoichiometric amounts of the polysaccharide) and specificity.