Activities of Thrombin (Allostery/Fibrinogen/Protein C/Thrombomodulin) QUOC D
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Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA Vol. 92, pp. 5977-5981, June 1995 Biophysics An allosteric switch controls the procoagulant and anticoagulant activities of thrombin (allostery/fibrinogen/protein C/thrombomodulin) QUOC D. DANG, ALESSANDRO VINDIGNI, AND ENRICO DI CERA* Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biophysics, Washington University School of Medicine, Box 8231, St. Louis, MO 63110 Communicated by Carl Frieden, Washington University School ofMedicine, St. Louis, MO, March Z 1995 (received for review December 6, 1994) ABSTRACT Thrombin is an allosteric enzyme existing in We recently demonstrated that thrombin is an allosteric two forms, slow and fast, that differwidely in their specificities enzyme, present in two distinct forms in equilibrium: the slow toward synthetic and natural amide substrates. The two forms and fast forms (9, 10). These forms were so defined originally are significantly populated in vivo, and the allosteric equilib- from their ability to interact with and cleave small chromo- rium can be affected by the binding of effectors and natural genic amide substrates; the slow form shows a significantly substrates. The fast form is procoagulant because it cleaves reduced catalytic efficiency. Because the two forms are sig- fibrinogen with higher specificity; the slow form is anticoag- nificantly populated under physiological conditions (9, 11), ulant because it cleaves protein C with higher specificity. assessing their role in the procoagulant and anticoagulant Binding ofthrombomodulin inhibits cleavage offibrinogen by activities of the enzyme is important. the fast form and promotes cleavage of protein C by the slow form. The allosteric properties of thrombin, which has tar- MATERIALS AND METHODS geted two distinct conformational states toward its two fun- damental and competing roles in hemostasis, are paradig- Human a-thrombin was purified and tested for activity as matic of a molecular strategy that is likely to be exploited by described (9,12). Human fibrinogen, PC, APC, and rabbit lung other proteases in the blood coagulation cascade. TM of the highest purity and activity were from Hematologic Technologies (Essex Junction, VT). These reagents yielded The physiologic response to a vascular lesion entails a number results consistent with published data (see Results). The chro- of sequential enzymatic steps catalyzed by distinct serine mogenic substrate S2266 (H-D-Val-Leu-Arg-p-nitroanilide), proteases (1, 2). The cascade of events culminates in the specific for APC, was from Chromogenix (Molndal, Sweden). generation of thrombin, which then catalyzes the conversion of The slow and fast forms were studied under experimental fibrinogen into fibrin monomers, leading to clot formation. conditions of 5 mM Tris/0.1% PEG (pH 8.0) at 25°C. Ionic Efficiency of the coagulation system requires that the response strength was kept constant at 200 mM with NaCl, when be rapid, localized at the injury site, and then readily termi- studying the fast form, or with choline (Ch) chloride, when nated. This result is accomplished through a complex network studying the slow form (9, 10). In studies involving PC, the slow of regulatory interactions. The components of this network form of thrombin was studied under conditions of 195 mM share a surprisingly high degree of structural homology (3). ChCl/5 mM NaCl (see below). Hence, a crucial question arises as to the molecular origin of Release of fibrinopeptides A and B (FpA and FpB) by the specificity in the cascade. Is there an underlying molecular slow and fast forms was quantified by reverse-phase HPLC, strategy shared by different members of the cascade or is using a Waters 717plus Autosampler for 1-ml injections into specificity accomplished differently by each protease? Under- the HPLC system equipped with a Waters C18 column (4.6 x standing the physicochemical and structural basis of protease 250 mm). Elution was done at a flow rate of 1 ml/min, with a specificity in the coagulation cascade would provide new tools gradient containing 80 mM sodium phosphate buffer, pH 3.1 for engineering proteases of desired specificity and eventually (solvent A) and acetonitrile (solvent B). Optimal separation lead to more efficient pharmacological strategies for control- was obtained by using 17% of solvent B from 0 to 15 min, ling hemostasis. followed by a 10-min linear gradient to 40% of solvent B. The Thrombin function conveys most of the complexity of the effluent was monitored at 205 nm. Extinction coefficients for entire coagulation cascade. This enzyme accomplishes two FpA and FpB were derived by calibration and quantitative opposite roles in hemostasis. The procoagulant role entails amino acid analysis of highly pure standards. The sequential conversion of fibrinogen into the fibrin clot and enhancement release of FpA and FpB was analyzed according to the of its own conversion from prothrombin through feed-back mechanism of Shafer and coworkers (13) with the expressions activation of proteases upstream in the cascade. The antico- agulant role encompasses activation of protein C (PC) with [FpA] = [FpA].(1 - e-at) [1] participation of thrombomodulin (TM), a cofactor on the and membrane of endothelial cells (4-6). Activated protein C (APC) rapidly inactivates factors Va and VIIIa, both of which are involved in thrombin generation. Thrombin, therefore, [FpB] = [FpB](1 - ae-b-b [2] finely tunes its own production in the blood through the balance between positive and negative feed-back loops, and where [FpA]o. and [FpB]. are the asymptotic values of the much interest now exists in understanding the molecular concentrations of FpA and FpB, while a and b are equal to the mechanism that allows this enzyme to accomplish its dual role kcat/Km ratio for FpA and FpB, respectively, times the enzyme in hemostasis (7, 8). concentration. The publication costs of this article were defrayed in part by page charge Abbreviations: Ch, choline; FpA, fibrinopeptide A; FpB, fibrinopeptide payment. This article must therefore be hereby marked "advertisement" in B; PC, protein C; APC, activated protein C; TM, thrombomodulin. accordance with 18 U.S.C. §1734 solely to indicate this fact. *To whom reprint requests should be addressed. 5977 Downloaded by guest on September 27, 2021 5978 Biophysics: Dang et al Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 92 (1995) Binding of TM to thrombin was quantified from the inhibition enhancement of the hydrolysis rate. For this reason, hydrolysis of hirudin binding. The equilibrium dissociation constant for of PC by the slow form of thrombin was studied under hirudin binding to thrombin, Ki, was measured as described (9) as conditions of 195 mM ChCl and 5 mM NaCl. At this Na+ a function of TM concentration. The value of Ki was found to concentration thrombin is =90% in the slow form, which increase linearly with the TM concentration, as expected for mimics the conditions of0.2 M NaCl, where thrombin is =90% competitive inhibition. The equilibrium dissociation constant for in the fast form (9). TM, Kd, was derived from the equation The Michaelis-Menten parameters in Eqs. 4-6 were deter- mined by analysis of progress curves of substrate hydrolysis K= OK(1 + [TM]) [3] using KINSIM and FITSIM. The values of TKm and Tkcat (see Eq. 6) for the hydrolysis of S2266 by thrombin in the various solution conditions were as follows: 210 ± 10 ,uM and 26 ± 1 where 0Ki is the value of Ki in the absence of TM. s-1 (0.2 M NaCl), 490 ± 20 AM and 29 ± 1 s-1 (195 mM ChCl, was The interaction of thrombin with PC studied by using 5 mM NaCl), 270 ± 20 AM and 29 ± 1 s-1 (195 mM ChCl/5 progress curves of substrate hydrolysis. This strategy is simple, mM NaCl/10 nM TM). No effect of Ca2+ at 5 mM was found accurate, and reliable. It has the advantage of monitoring PC under all conditions examined, and likewise 10 nM TM had no activation continuously and greatly minimizes the amounts of effect on the hydrolysis of S2266 by the fast form. The values expensive reagents needed for determination of the kinetic of CKm and ckcat (see Eq. 5) for the hydrolysis of S2266 by APC parameters. The general reaction scheme for catalytic conver- in the various solution conditions were as follows: 300 ± 10 ,uM sion of PC is and 11.3 ± 0.2 s-1 (0.2 M NaCl), 1.0 ± 0.1 mM and 2.0 ± 0.1 Km kat s-1 (195 mM ChCl/5 mM NaCl), 1.0 ± 0.1 mM and 6.0 ± 0.3 T+PC TPC - > T + APC, [4] s-1 (195 mM ChCl/5 mM NaCl/5 mM CaCl2). Thrombo- modulin at 10 nM had no effect on activity of APC, regardless CKm Ckcat APC+ S APCS APC+P, [5] of solution conditions, and 5 mM Ca2' had no effect under all conditions studied in 0.2 M NaCl. Progress curves of S2266 and hydrolysis were measured to derive the specificity (kcat/Km ratio for Eq. 4) of the slow and fast forms toward TKm Tkt PC. The T + S <'TS T + P. [6] S2266 concentration was 50 ,uM in all cases, and PC was used at 300 nM, well below estimated Km values (19). The thrombin The product P is the p-nitroaniline released from a chromo- concentration was 2 nM. Under these conditions release of genic substrate (S2266) specific for APC and provides the p-nitroaniline due to cleavage by thrombin and APC was signal to be followed at 405 nm as a function of time. The extremely sensitive to the kcat/Km ratio for PC activation, release of P depends on three reactions: cleavage of S2266 by thereby allowing accurate measurements of this parameter; APC (Eq. 5), activation of PC by thrombin (Eq. 4), and this was due to the constraints imposed by the parallel Eqs.