THE BINDING OF ANTITHROMBIN TO CAPILLARY ENDOTHELIAL CELLS GROWN IN VITRO
Cloned endothelial cells from rat epididymal fat pads synthesize anticoagulantly active heparan sulfate proteoglycans containing the disaccharide, GlcA→ AMN-3,6-O-SO3, which is a marker for the antithrombin-binding domain of heparin. To demonstrate that antithrombin (AT) binds to cell surface heparan sulfate, a binding assay employing 125I-AT and cell monolayers has been developed. Post-confluent endothelial cells (7 days) were incubated with radiolabeled AT for 1 h at 4° and washed with PBS. Bound radioactivity was quantitated after solubilizing whole cells. Under these conditions, ∼1% (2174±50 cpm/5x104 cells) of the 125I-AT bound to the endothelial cell monolayer, whereas none of the radiolabeled protein bound to CHO cells or bovine smooth muscle cells. Utilization of unlabeled AT (1 μM) in experiments conducted as described above resulted in a reduction (73%) of the binding of the labeled species to endothelial cells. To assess whether heparan sulfate was responsible for AT binding, cell monolayers were incubated for 1 h at 37° with purified Flavobacterium heparinase (0.2 units). Over 90% of 125I-AT binding to these cellular elements was suppressed with the bacterial enzyme. Internalization of radiolabeled AT by endothelial cells was examined by incubating the protease inhibitor and cells at 4° and 37 . An initial rapid binding was observed at both temperatures. At 4° AT binding plateaued within 15 min, whereas at 37° binding did not plateau until 60 min and was 30% greater than that observed at 4. These data suggest that surface-associated AT can be internalized by endothelial cells. In addition, AT binding was shown to increase with the length of endothelial cell postconfluence, indicating an accumulation of heparan sulfate by these cells during quiescence. In conclusion, our studies support the hypothesis that the vascular endothelium is coated with heparan sulfate-bound AT, which is responsible for the antithrombotic properties of these natural surfaces.