Assay of Functional Plasminogen in Rat Plasma Applicable to Experimental Studies of Thrombolysis

2000 ◽  
Vol 84 (08) ◽  
pp. 299-306 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kristian Bangert ◽  
Sixtus Thorsen

SummaryAn improved sensitive, specific, precise and accurate assay of plasminogen in rat plasma was developed. It is performed in 96-well microtiter plates and can be completed within one hour. The assay is based on activation of plasminogen by human urokinase-type plasminogen activator (uPA) and simultaneous measurement of generated plasmin with the specific plasmin substrate H-D-Val-Phe-Lys-4-nitroanilide (S-2390), using purified native rat plasminogen for calibration. The concentration of S-2390 in the final reaction mixture during the whole reaction period is much greater than the K m value (≈20 µM) for rat plasmin-cleavage of S-2390 ensuring that hydrolysis of substrate follows zero order kinetics and that the substrate produces a 20-35 fold decrease in rate of inhibition of plasmin by its target inhibitors in plasma. Analogous to the human system the target plasma inhibitors of rat plasmin are shown to be plasmin inhibitor and α-macroglobulins. Tranexamic acid (0.8 mM) is incorporated in the reaction mixture resulting in a 19-fold increase in the rate of plasminogen activation and presumably an about 50-fold decrease in the rate of inhibition of generated plasmin by plasmin inhibitor. The assay is suitable for accurate measurement of plasminogen in samples obtained from animals containing pharmacological concentrations of uPA or tissue-type plasminogen activator (tPA) in their plasma when in vitro plasminogen activation is blocked at pH 5 by collecting blood in acidic anticoagulant. Judged from in vitro experiments formation of catalytic active plasmin-α-macroglobulin complexes during massive activation of plasminogen in vivo does not interfere with the assay.

Blood ◽  
1986 ◽  
Vol 67 (5) ◽  
pp. 1482-1487 ◽  
Author(s):  
P Holvoet ◽  
HR Lijnen ◽  
D Collen

Abstract One (MA-1C8) of 36 monoclonal antibodies obtained by fusion of P3X63- Ag8–6.5.3 myeloma cells with spleen cells of mice immunized with purified human tissue-type plasminogen activator (t-PA) blocked the activity of t-PA on fibrin plates but not on chromogenic substrates. MA- 1C8 at a concentration of 200 micrograms/mL inhibited plasma clot lysis and binding of t-PA to the clot. MA-1C8 had no influence on the activation of plasminogen by t-PA, which obeys Michaelis-Menten kinetics with Km = 105 mumol/L and kcat = 0.05 s-1; however, it abolished the influence of CNBr-digested fibrinogen on Km. These findings confirm that the stimulatory effect of fibrin on the activation of plasminogen by t-PA is mediated by binding of t-PA to fibrin and provide additional support for the kinetic model. Addition of t-PA to pooled fresh human plasma to a concentration of 5 micrograms/mL resulted in extensive fibrinogen breakdown after incubation for one hour at 37 degrees C or during storage at -20 degrees C for one day. In both instances, fibrinogen degradation was completely prevented by addition of MA-1C8 to a concentration of 200 micrograms/mL of plasma. MA-1C8 also effectively prevented in vitro fibrinogen degradation and in vitro plasminogen activation in plasma samples obtained during infusion of recombinant t-PA in patients with thromboembolic disease. Thus, MA-1C8 is a useful tool for discriminating between in vivo and in vitro fibrinolysis during thrombolytic therapy with t-PA.


Blood ◽  
1986 ◽  
Vol 67 (5) ◽  
pp. 1482-1487
Author(s):  
P Holvoet ◽  
HR Lijnen ◽  
D Collen

One (MA-1C8) of 36 monoclonal antibodies obtained by fusion of P3X63- Ag8–6.5.3 myeloma cells with spleen cells of mice immunized with purified human tissue-type plasminogen activator (t-PA) blocked the activity of t-PA on fibrin plates but not on chromogenic substrates. MA- 1C8 at a concentration of 200 micrograms/mL inhibited plasma clot lysis and binding of t-PA to the clot. MA-1C8 had no influence on the activation of plasminogen by t-PA, which obeys Michaelis-Menten kinetics with Km = 105 mumol/L and kcat = 0.05 s-1; however, it abolished the influence of CNBr-digested fibrinogen on Km. These findings confirm that the stimulatory effect of fibrin on the activation of plasminogen by t-PA is mediated by binding of t-PA to fibrin and provide additional support for the kinetic model. Addition of t-PA to pooled fresh human plasma to a concentration of 5 micrograms/mL resulted in extensive fibrinogen breakdown after incubation for one hour at 37 degrees C or during storage at -20 degrees C for one day. In both instances, fibrinogen degradation was completely prevented by addition of MA-1C8 to a concentration of 200 micrograms/mL of plasma. MA-1C8 also effectively prevented in vitro fibrinogen degradation and in vitro plasminogen activation in plasma samples obtained during infusion of recombinant t-PA in patients with thromboembolic disease. Thus, MA-1C8 is a useful tool for discriminating between in vivo and in vitro fibrinolysis during thrombolytic therapy with t-PA.


1983 ◽  
Vol 50 (02) ◽  
pp. 518-523 ◽  
Author(s):  
C Kluft ◽  
A F H Jie ◽  
R A Allen

SummaryFunctional assay of extrinsic (tissue-type) plasminogen activator (EPA) in plasma on fibrin plates was evaluated. Using specific quenching antibodies, we demonstrated the method to be specific for EPA under all conditions tested. Contributions of urokinases and intrinsic activators were excluded. The quantity of EPA in blood samples, as compared with purified uterine tissue activator, shows 1 blood activator unit (BAU) to be comparable to 0.93 ng.The median values for EPA activity for healthy volunteers were: baseline, 1.9 BAU/ml (n = 123); diurnal, 5.5 BAU/ml (n = 12); DDAVP administration, 11.7 BAU/ml (n = 39); exhaustive exercise, 25 BAU/ml (n = 24); venous occlusion (15 min), 35 BAU/ml (n = 61). A large inter-individual variation in EPA activity was found, while individual baseline values tended to be constant for periods of weeks.In vitro in blood EPA activity shows a disappearance of 50% in about 90 min at 37° C; EPA activity in euglobulin fractions is stable for ≤2 hr at 37° C.A rapid decrease in EPA activity occurs in vivo, as noted after extracorporal circulation and exercise stimulation (t½ decay, 2-5 min).


1987 ◽  
Author(s):  
J M Stassen ◽  
D Collen

t-PA and scu-PA, in molar ratios between 1:4 and 4:1 do not act synergically in vitro (Thromb. Haemost. 56,35,1986) but display marked synergism in a rabbit model (Circulation 74, 838, 1986) and in man (Am. Heart J. 112, 1083, 1986). To investigate the mechanism of in vivo synergism in the rabbit model (J. Clin. Invest. 71, 368, 1983), t-PA and scu-PA were infused 1) simultaneously over 4 hrs, 2) t-PA over 1 hr, then 15 min later scu-PA over 2 hrs and 3) scu-PA over 1 hr, then 15 min later t-PA over 2 hrs.Significant synergism on thrombolysis is observed when t-PA and scu-PA are infused simultaneously or when t-PA is followed by scu-PA but not when scu-PA is followed by t-PA. These results suggest that low dose t-PA induces some plasminogen activation, sufficient to partially degrade fibrin, exposing COOH-terminal lysines with high affinity for plasminogen (Eur. J. Biochem. 140, 513, 1984). scu-PA might then activate surface-bound Glu-pla-minogen more efficiently.Sequential therapy with t-PA (or any other agent which "predigests" the thrombus), followed by scu-PA might constitute an alternative to simultaneous infusion of synergistic thrombolytic agents.


Blood ◽  
1992 ◽  
Vol 79 (6) ◽  
pp. 1420-1427 ◽  
Author(s):  
S Kunitada ◽  
GA FitzGerald ◽  
DJ Fitzgerald

Tissue-type plasminogen activator (t-PA) is less active in vivo and in vitro against clots that are enriched in platelets, even at therapeutic concentrations. The release of radioactivity from 125I-fibrin-labeled clots was decreased by 47% 6 hours after the addition of t-PA 400 U/mL when formed in platelet-rich versus platelet-poor plasma. This difference was not due to the release of plasminogen activator inhibitor-1 (PAI-1) by platelets. Thus, the fibrinolytic activity of t- PA in the supernatant was similar in the two preparations and fibrin autography demonstrated only a minor degree of t-PA-PAI-1 complex formation. Furthermore, a similar platelet-dependent reduction in clot lysis was seen with a t-PA mutant resistant to inhibition by PAI-1. The reduction in t-PA activity correlated with a decrease in t-PA binding to platelet-enriched clot (60% +/- 3% v platelet-poor clot, n = 5). This reduction in binding was also shown using t-PA treated with the chloromethylketone, D-Phe-Pro-Arg-CH2Cl (PPACK) (36% +/- 13%, n = 3), and with S478A, a mutant t-PA in which the active site serine at position 478 has been substituted by alanine (43% +/- 6%, n = 3). In contrast, fixed platelets and platelet supernatants had no effect on the binding or lytic activity of t-PA. Pretreatment with cytochalasin D 1 mumol/L, which inhibits clot retraction, also abolished the platelet- induced inhibition of lysis and t-PA binding by platelets. These data suggest that platelets inhibit clot lysis at therapeutic concentrations of t-PA as a consequence of clot retraction and decreased access of fibrinolytic proteins.


1989 ◽  
Vol 61 (02) ◽  
pp. 259-261
Author(s):  
Thomas M Reilly ◽  
Robert M Knabb ◽  
Andrew T Chiu ◽  
David L Bradfute ◽  
Pieter B M W M Timmermans

SummaryThree murine monoclonal antibodies to tissue-type plasminogen activator (t-PA) were evaluated for their effects on the binding of iodinated t-PA to cultured human hepatoma cells (Hep G2), and on extending the half-life of t-PA injected into rabbits. Two of the antibodies, AE5 and EG2, significantly inhibited t-PA binding in vitro, and extended the in vivo half-life of t-PA four to five-fold. A third antibody, BA10, which had a much smaller inhibitory effect on t-PA binding, had no influence in extending t-PA’s half-life. MOPC-21, a control antibody not directed to t-PA, had no effect on either test. Our results are the first to correlate different compounds’ effects on t-PA binding with their ability to retard t-PA clearance in vivo, and provide additional evidence for the importance of a liver cell receptor in the t-PA clearance process.


1987 ◽  
Author(s):  
R S Rappaport ◽  
M R Blume ◽  
R L Vogel ◽  
M H Levner ◽  
P P Hung

There is mounting evidence from animal models and the clinic that combination thrombolytic therapy with tissue-type plasminogen activator (tPA) and single chain urokinase (scuPA) is synergistic. Yet, efforts to demonstrate synergism between these two plasminogen activators in vitro have met with discordant results. Collen et al (Thromb. Haemostasis, 56:35, 1986) reported an absence of synergism between these two agents on clot lysis in an in vitro plasma milieu when they were evaluated at molar ratios of 1:4 (tPA:scuPA and vice versa). Gurewich and Pannell (Thromb. Res., 44:217, 1986), however, reported a synergistic effect on fibrin-specific clot lysis in vitro when the agents were combined in concentrations exceeding molar ratios of 1:4 (tPA:scuPA). Here, we present evidence that synergism between tPA and scuPA may be demonstrated in vitro provided that the molar ratio of tPA to scuPA exceeds 1:4 and that the concentration of clot bound or unbound tPA is minimized. In order to achieve this experimental condition, the standard in vitro plasma clot lysis assay was modified. Human plasma clots were incubated first for a short time in plasma containing varying amounts of tPA. After incubation, the clots were washed thoroughly and reimmersed in plasma alone or in plasma containing varying amounts of scuPA or tPA. Under these conditions, lysis proceeded at a greater rate and to a greater extent when tPA clots were immersed in plasma containing an appropriate amount of scuPA than when they were immersed in plasma alone or in plasma containing appropriate amounts of tPA. Lysis of untreated clots or clots exposed first to scuPA and then to plasma containing varying amounts of scuPA proceeded far less efficiently with a characteristic lag. The enhanced lysis produced by tPA and scuPA obeyed the classical definition of synergy: the same biological effect can be obtained with two drugs together at algebraic fractional combinations of less than 1 (Berenbaum, M.C., Clin. Exp. Immunol., 28:1-18, 1977). Thus, conditions that more closely mimic the in vivo situation resulting from a bolus injection of tPA followed by infusion with scuPA, may provide a system for duplication of in vivo synergism in. vi tro and investigation of the mechanism thereof.


Gene Therapy ◽  
2007 ◽  
Vol 14 (21) ◽  
pp. 1537-1542 ◽  
Author(s):  
Y S Gong ◽  
K L Zhang ◽  
X G Jiang ◽  
Z W Wang ◽  
Z Q Sun ◽  
...  

Blood ◽  
1988 ◽  
Vol 71 (5) ◽  
pp. 1347-1352 ◽  
Author(s):  
ET Fry ◽  
BE Sobel

Abstract Coronary thrombolysis with t-PA is generally implemented with concomitant administration of heparin. However, results of studies in vitro suggest that heparin competes with fibrin for binding of tissue- type plasminogen activator (t-PA), augments activation of free plasminogen, decreases fibrin specificity, and impairs thrombolysis. To define the biological implications of these observations, we characterized effects of therapeutic concentrations of heparin on the binding of t-PA to thrombi formed in whole blood, effects of heparin on activation of plasminogen by t-PA in plasma, and effects of heparin on thrombolysis induced by t-PA in a clot lysis system designed to simulate conditions in vivo. The amount of t-PA bound to thrombi was not affected by heparin (0, 0.5, 1.0, and 5.0 U/mL). When t-PA activity was selectively and irreversibly inhibited by D-Phe-Pro-Arg- chloromethyl ketone (PPACK) the amount of t-PA-PPACK bound was similarly unaffected by heparin. Thrombolysis measured by 125I- fibrin(ogen) release and by reduction of mass of thrombi were not altered by heparin. Heparin did not affect plasminogen consumption induced by t-PA. Plasma concentrations of alpha-2-antiplasmin after exposure of blood to t-PA were less depressed with increasing concentrations of heparin. Thus, heparin in therapeutic concentrations does not interfere with binding of t-PA to thrombi, augment activation of free plasminogen, or inhibit thrombolysis. Accordingly, it appears likely that concomitant administration of heparin will not impair thrombolysis with t-PA implemented clinically.


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