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Background: Inactivation of integrin αIIbβ3 reverses platelet aggregate formation upon coagulation., Results and Conclusion: Platelets from patient (Scott) and mouse (Capn1(-/-) and Ppif(-/-)) blood reveal a dual mechanism of αIIbβ3 inactivation: by calpain-2 cleavage of integrin-associated proteins and by cyclophilin D/TMEM16F-dependent phospholipid scrambling., Significance: These data provide novel insight into the switch mechanisms from aggregating to procoagulant platelets. Aggregation of platelets via activated integrin αIIbβ3 is a prerequisite for thrombus formation. Phosphatidylserine-exposing platelets with a key role in the coagulation process disconnect from a thrombus by integrin inactivation via an unknown mechanism. Here we show that αIIbβ3 inactivation in procoagulant platelets relies on a sustained high intracellular Ca(2+), stimulating intracellular cleavage of the β3 chain, talin, and Src kinase. Inhibition of calpain activity abolished protein cleavage, but only partly suppressed αIIbβ3 inactivation. Integrin αIIbβ3 inactivation was unchanged in platelets from Capn1(-/-) mice, suggesting a role of the calpain-2 isoform. Scott syndrome platelets, lacking the transmembrane protein TMEM16F and having low phosphatidylserine exposure, displayed reduced αIIbβ3 inactivation with the remaining activity fully dependent on calpain. In platelets from Ppif(-/-) mice, lacking mitochondrial permeability transition pore (mPTP) formation, agonist-induced phosphatidylserine exposure and αIIbβ3 inactivation were reduced. Treatment of human platelets with cyclosporin A gave a similar phenotype. Together, these data point to a dual mechanism of αIIbβ3 inactivation via calpain(-2) cleavage of integrin-associated proteins and via TMEM16F-dependent phospholipid scrambling with an assistant role of mPTP formation.

The procoagulatory serine protease, thrombin, is known to induce invasion and metastasis in various cancers, but the mechanisms by which it promotes tumorigenesis are poorly understood. Because the 92-kDa gelatinase (MMP-9) is a known mediator of tumor cell invasion, we sought to determine whether and how thrombin regulates MMP-9. The thrombin receptor, PAR-1, and MMP-9 are expressed in osteosarcomas, as determined by immunohistochemistry. Stimulation of U2-OS osteosarcoma cells with thrombin and a thrombin receptor-activating peptide induced pro-MMP-9 secretion as well as cell surface-associated pro-MMP-9 expression and proteolytic activity. This was paralleled by an increase in MMP-9 mRNA and MMP-9 promoter activity. Thrombin-induced invasion of U2-OS cells through Matrigel was mediated by the phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase signaling pathway and could be inhibited with an MMP-9 antibody. The stimulation of MMP-9 by thrombin was paralleled by an increase in beta1-integrin mRNA and beta1-integrin expression on the cell surface, which was also mediated by phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase and was required for invasion. Thrombin activation induced and co-localized both beta1-integrin and pro-MMP-9 on the cell membrane, as evidenced by co-immunoprecipitation, confocal microscopy, and a protein binding assay. The thrombin-mediated association of these two proteins, as well as thrombin-mediated invasion of U2-OS cells, could be blocked with a cyclic peptide and with an antibody preventing binding of the MMP-9 hemopexin domain to beta1-integrin. These results suggest that thrombin induces expression and association of beta1-integrin with MMP-9 and that the cell surface localization of the protease by the integrin promotes tumor cell invasion.

Little is known on the role of disulfide bonds in the catalytic domain of serine proteases. The Cys-191-Cys-220 disulfide bond is located between the 190 strand leading to the oxyanion hole and the 220-loop that contributes to the architecture of the primary specificity pocket and the Na+ binding site in allosteric proteases. Removal of this bond in thrombin produces an approximately 100-fold loss of activity toward several chromogenic and natural substrates carrying Arg or Lys at P1. Na+ activation is compromised, and no fluorescence change can be detected in response to Na+ binding. A 1.54-A resolution structure of the C191A/C220A mutant in the free form reveals a conformation similar to the Na+-free slow form of wild type. The lack of disulfide bond exposes the side chain of Asp-189 to solvent, flips the backbone O atom of Gly-219, and generates disorder in portions of the 186 and 220 loops defining the Na+ site. This conformation, featuring perturbation of the Na+ site but with the active site accessible to substrate, offers a possible representation of the recently identified E* form of thrombin. Disorder in the 186 and 220 loops and the flip of Gly-219 are corrected by the active site inhibitor H-D-Phe-Pro-Arg-CH(2)Cl, as revealed by the 1.8-A resolution structure of the complex. We conclude that the Cys-191-Cys-220 disulfide bond confers stability to the primary specificity pocket by shielding Asp-189 from the solvent and orients the backbone O atom of Gly-219 for optimal substrate binding. In addition, the disulfide bond stabilizes the 186 and 220 loops that are critical for Na+ binding and activation.

Activation of the transcription factor NF-kappaB involves its release from the inhibitory protein IkappaBalpha in the cytoplasm and subsequently, its translocation to the nucleus. Whereas the events responsible for its release have been elucidated, mechanisms regulating the nuclear transport of NF-kappaB remain elusive. We now provide evidence for actin cytoskeleton-dependent and -independent mechanisms of RelA/p65 nuclear transport using the proinflammatory mediators, thrombin and tumor necrosis factor alpha, respectively. We demonstrate that thrombin alters the actin cytoskeleton in endothelial cells and interfering with these alterations, whether by stabilizing or destabilizing the actin filaments, prevents thrombin-induced NF-kappaB activation and consequently, expression of its target gene, ICAM-1. The blockade of NF-kappaB activation occurs downstream of IkappaBalpha degradation and is associated with impaired RelA/p65 nuclear translocation. Importantly, thrombin induces association of RelA/p65 with actin and this interaction is sensitive to stabilization/destabilization of the actin filaments. In parallel studies, stabilizing or destabilizing the actin filaments fails to inhibit RelA/p65 nuclear accumulation and ICAM-1 expression by tumor necrosis factor alpha, consistent with its inability to induce actin filament formation comparable with thrombin. Thus, these studies reveal the existence of actin cytoskeleton-dependent and -independent pathways that may be engaged in a stimulus-specific manner to facilitate RelA/p65 nuclear import and thereby ICAM-1 expression in endothelial cells.

Activation and dysfunction of the endothelium underlie many vascular disorders including atherosclerosis, tumor growth, and inflammation. We recently reported that thrombin and vascular endothelial growth factor, but not tumor necrosis factor-alpha, results in dramatic up-regulation of Down syndrome critical region (DSCR)-1 gene in endothelial cells, a negative feedback regulator of calcineurin-NFAT signaling. Constitutive expression of DSCR-1 in activated endothelial cells markedly impaired NFAT nuclear localization, proliferation, tube formation, and tumor growth. The goal of the present study was to elucidate the relative roles of NFAT/DSCR-1 and NF-kappaB/I-kappaB in mediating thrombin-responsive gene expression in endothelial cells. DNA microarrays of thrombin-treated human umbilical vein endothelial cells overexpressing DSCR-1 or constitutive active IkappaBalpha revealed genes that were dependent on NFAT and/or NF-kappaB activity. Vascular cell adhesion molecule-1 was inhibited both by DSCR-1 and I-kappaB at the level of mRNA, protein, promoter activity, and function (monocyte adhesion). Using a combination of transient transfections, electrophoretic mobility shift assays, and chromatin immunoprecipitation, thrombin was shown to induce time-dependent coordinate binding of RelA and NFATc to a tandem NF-kappaB element in the upstream promoter region of vascular cell adhesion molecule-1. Together, these findings suggest that thrombin-mediated activation of endothelial cells involves an interplay between NFAT and NF-kappaB signaling pathways and their negative feedback inhibitors, DSCR-1 and I-kappaB, respectively. As natural brakes in the inflammatory process, DSCR-1 and I-kappaB may lend themselves to therapeutic manipulation in vasculopathic disease states.

Previous studies have suggested that thrombin interacts with integrins in endothelial cells through its RGD (Arg-187, Gly-188, Asp-189) sequence. All existing crystal structures of thrombin show that most of this sequence is buried under the 220-loop and therefore interaction via RGD implies either partial unfolding of the enzyme or its proteolytic digestion. Here, we demonstrate that surface-absorbed thrombin promotes attachment and migration of endothelial cells through interaction with alpha(v)beta(3) and alpha(5)beta(1) integrins. Using site-directed mutants of thrombin we prove that this effect is mediated by the RGD sequence and does not require catalytic activity. The effect is abrogated when residues of the RGD sequence are mutated to Ala and is not observed with proteases like trypsin and tissue-type plasminogen activator, unless the RGD sequence is introduced at position 187-189. The potent inhibitor hirudin does not abrogate the effect, suggesting that thrombin functions through its RGD sequence in a non-canonical conformation. A 1.9-Angstroms resolution crystal structure of free thrombin grown in the presence of high salt (400 mm KCl) shows two molecules in the asymmetric unit, one of which assumes an unprecedented conformation with the autolysis loop shifted 20 Angstroms away from its canonical position, the 220-loop entirely disordered, and the RGD sequence exposed to the solvent.

Thrombin stimulation of platelets triggers Tyr phosphorylation of several signaling proteins, most of which remain unidentified. In this study, we demonstrate for the first time that hematopoietic lineage cell-specific protein 1 (HS1) undergoes a transient Tyr phosphorylation in human platelets stimulated with thrombin. The protein is synergistically phosphorylated by Syk and Lyn tyrosine kinases according to a sequential phosphorylation mechanism. By means of specific inhibitors (PP2, SU6656, and piceatannol) and phosphopeptide-specific antibodies, as well as by coimmunoprecipitation and binding competition experiments, we show that Syk acts as the primary kinase that phosphorylates HS1 at Tyr397 and that Syk phosphorylation is required for HS1 interaction with the Lyn SH2 domain. Upon docking to Syk-phosphorylated HS1, Lyn catalyzes the secondary phosphorylation of the protein at Tyr222. Once the secondary Tyr phosphorylation of HS1 is accomplished the protein dissociates from Lyn and undergoes a dephosphorylation process. HS1 Tyr phosphorylation does not occur when thrombin-induced actin assembly is inhibited by cytochalasin D even under conditions in which Syk and Lyn are still active. Immunofluorescence microscopic analysis shows that the agonist promotes HS1 migration to the plasma membrane and that the inhibition of Lyn-mediated secondary phosphorylation of HS1 abrogates the subcellular translocation of the protein. All together these results indicate that HS1 Tyr phosphorylation catalyzed by Syk and Lyn plays a crucial role in the translocation of the protein to the membrane and is involved in the cytoskeleton rearrangement triggered by thrombin in human platelets.

Thrombin catalyzes the proteolytic activation of factor VIII, cleaving two sites in the heavy chain and one site in the light chain of the procofactor. Evaluation of thrombin binding the reaction products from heavy chain cleavage by steady state fluorescence energy transfer using a fluorophore-labeled, active site-modified thrombin as well as by solid phase binding assays using a thrombin Ser(205) --> Ala mutant indicated a high affinity site in the A1 subunit (K(d) approximately 5 nm) that was dependent upon the Na(+)-bound form of thrombin, whereas a moderate affinity site in the A2 subunit (K(d) approximately 100 nm) was observed for both Na(+)-bound and -free forms. The solid phase assay also indicated that hirudin blocked thrombin interaction with the A1 subunit and had little, if any, effect on its interaction with the A2 subunit. Conversely, heparin blocked thrombin interaction with the A2 subunit and showed a marginal effect on A1 binding. Evaluation of the A2 sequence revealed two regions rich in acidic residues that are localized close to the N and C termini of this domain. Peptides encompassing these clustered acidic regions, residues 373-395 and 719-740, blocked thrombin cleavage of the isolated heavy chain at Arg(372) and Arg(740) and inhibited A2 binding to thrombin Ser(205) --> Ala, suggesting that both A2 domain regions potentially support interaction with thrombin. A B-domainless, factor VIII double mutant Asp(392) --> Ala/Asp(394) --> Ala was constructed, expressed, and purified and possessed specific activity equivalent to a severe hemophilia phenotype. This mutant was resistant to cleavage at Arg(740), whereas cleavage at Arg(372) was not affected. These data suggest the acidic region comprising residues 389-394 in factor VIII A2 domain interacts with thrombin via its heparin-binding exosite and facilitates cleavage at Arg(740) during procofactor activation.

Activated protein C (APC), a natural anticoagulant protease, can trigger cellular responses via protease-activated receptor-1 (PAR1), a G protein-coupled receptor for thrombin. Whether this phenomenon contributes to the physiological effects of APC is unknown. Toward answering this question, we compared the kinetics of PAR1 cleavage on endothelial cells by APC versus thrombin. APC did cleave PAR1 on the endothelial surface, and antibodies to the endothelial protein C receptor inhibited such cleavage. Importantly, however, APC was approximately 10(4)-fold less potent than thrombin in this setting. APC and thrombin both triggered PAR1-mediated responses in endothelial cells including expression of antiapoptotic (tumor necrosis factor-alpha-induced a20 and iap-1) and chemokine (interleukin-8 (il-8) and cxcl3) genes, but again, APC was approximately 10(4)-fold less potent than thrombin. The addition of zymogen protein C to endothelial cultures did not alter the rate of PAR1 cleavage at low or high concentrations of thrombin, and PAR1 cleavage was substantial at thrombin concentrations too low to trigger detectable conversion of protein C to APC. Thus, locally generated APC did not contribute to PAR1 cleavage beyond that effected by thrombin in this system. Although consistent with reports that sufficiently high concentrations of APC can cleave and activate PAR1 in culture, our data suggest that a significant physiological role for PAR1 activation by APC is unlikely.

The serine protease thrombin is known as a blood coagulation factor. Through limited cleavage of proteinase-activated receptors it can also control growth and functions in various cell types, including neurons, astrocytes, and microglia (brain macrophages). A number of previous studies indicated that thrombin induces the release of proinflammatory cytokines and chemokines from microglial cells, suggesting another important role for the protease beyond hemostasis. In the present report, we provide evidence that this effect is not mediated by any proteolytic or non-proteolytic mechanism involving thrombin proper. Inhibition of the enzymatic thrombin activity did not affect the microglial release response. Instead the cyto-/chemokine-inducing activity solely resided in a high molecular weight protein fraction that could be isolated in trace amounts even from apparently homogenous alpha- and gamma-thrombin preparations. High molecular weight material contained thrombin-derived peptides as revealed by mass spectrometry but was devoid of thrombin-like enzymatic activity. Separated from the high molecular weight fraction by fast protein liquid chromatography, enzymatically intact alpha- and gamma-thrombin failed to trigger any release. Our findings may force a revision of the notion that thrombin itself is a direct proinflammatory release signal for microglia. In addition, they could be relevant for the study of other cellular activities and their assignment to this protease.

The serine proteinase inhibitor tissue factor pathway inhibitor-2 (TFPI-2) inhibits the tissue factor-factor VIIa complex and thereby impairs factor Xa and subsequently thrombin generation. Here we show that thrombin itself up-regulates TFPI-2 mRNA and protein expression in human liver myofibroblasts, a cell type shown to express high levels of TFPI-2 (Neaud, V., Hisaka, T., Monvoisin, A., Bedin, C., Balabaud, C., Foster, D. C., Desmoulière, A., Kisiel, W., and Rosenbaum, J. (2000) J. Biol. Chem. 275, 35565-35569). This effect required thrombin catalytic activity, as shown by its abolition with hirudin. Although the thrombin effect could be mimicked by agonists of both protease-activated receptor (PAR)-1 and PAR-4, it was largely blocked by a PAR-1 blocking antibody. Transactivation of the epidermal growth factor (EGF) receptor has been reported as a common event in thrombin signaling. However, thrombin did not detectably transactivate the EGF receptor in liver myofibroblasts, and blocking the EGF receptor did not affect TFPI-2 induction. On the other hand, thrombin increased the expression of cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) mRNA via a MAPK-dependent pathway, and a specific COX-2 inhibitor abolished the effect of thrombin on TFPI-2 expression. Thus, thrombin, through PAR-1 signaling, up-regulates the synthesis of TFPI-2 via a MAPK/COX-2-dependent pathway. The up-regulation of TFPI-2 expression by thrombin could in turn down-regulate thrombin generation and contribute to limit blood coagulation.

The proteolytic processing of amyloid precursor protein (APP) through the formation of membrane-bound C-terminal fragments (CTFs) and of soluble beta-amyloid peptides likely influences the development of Alzheimer's disease (AD). We show that in human brain a subset of CTFs are tyrosine-phosphorylated and form stable complexes with the adaptor protein ShcA. Grb2 is also part of these complexes, which are present in higher amounts in AD than in control brains. ShcA immunoreactivity is also greatly enhanced in patients with AD and occurs at reactive astrocytes surrounding cerebral vessels and amyloid plaques. A higher amount of phospho-ERK1,2, likely as result of the ShcA activation, is present in AD brains. In vitro experiments show that the ShcA-CTFs interaction is strictly confined to glial cells when treated with thrombin, which is a well known ShcA and ERK1,2 activator and a regulator of APP cleavage. In untreated cells ShcA does not interact with either APP or CTFs, although they are normally generated. Altogether these data suggest that CTFs are implicated in cell signaling via Shc transduction machinery, likely influencing MAPK activity and glial reaction in AD patients.

In Chinese hamster embryonic fibroblasts (IIC9 cells) alpha-thrombin activates the MAPK(ERK) and phosphatidylinositol 3-OH-kinase (PI 3-kinase)/Akt pathways, and both are essential for progression through the G(1) phase of the cell cycle. We investigated in IIC9 cells, the role of beta-arrestin1 in alpha-thrombin signaling to these pathways. alpha-Thrombin stimulates rapid and sustained PI 3-kinase and Akt activities. Expression of a dominant negative beta-arrestin1 (beta-arrestin1(V53D)) inhibits rapid but not sustained PI 3-kinase and Akt activities. Surprisingly, expression of beta-arrestin1(V53D) does not block activation of the MAPK(ERK) pathway. PI 3-kinase and Akt activities are also inhibited by expression of a beta-arrestin1 mutant, which impairs binding to c-Src (beta-arrestin1(P91G-P121E)), indicating the involvement of c-Src in the rapid stimulation of the PI 3-kinase/Akt pathway. Consistent with these results, PP1, a selective inhibitor of c-Src family kinases, prevents alpha-thrombin-stimulated Akt phosphorylation. Expression of beta- arrestin1(V53D) does not prevent G(1) progression, as its expression has no effect on [(3)H]thymidine incorporation into DNA. In agreement with the ineffectiveness of beta-arrestin1(V53D) to block G(1) progression, cyclin D1 protein amounts and CDK4-cyclin D1 activity is unaffected by expression of beta-arrestin1(V53D). Thus in IIC9 cells, alpha-thrombin activates rapid beta-arrestin1-dependent and sustained beta-arrestin1-independent Akt activity, suggesting that two mechanisms are involved. Furthermore, although blocking the beta-arrestin1-independent PI 3-kinase/Akt pathway prevents G(1) progression, inhibition of the beta-arrestin1-dependent pathway does not, indicating different roles for the rapid and sustained activities.

The C termini of G protein alpha subunits are critical for binding to their cognate receptors, and peptides corresponding to the C terminus can serve as competitive inhibitors of G protein-coupled receptor-G protein interactions. This interface is quite specific as a single amino acid difference annuls the ability of a G alpha(i) peptide to bind the A(1) adenosine receptor (Gilchrist, A., Mazzoni, M., Dineen, B., Dice, A., Linden, J., Dunwiddie, T., and Hamm, H. E. (1998 ) J. Biol. Chem. 273, 14912--14919). Recently, we demonstrated that a plasmid minigene vector encoding the C-terminal sequence of G alpha(i) could specifically inhibit downstream responses to agonist stimulation of the muscarinic M(2) receptor (Gilchrist, A., Bunemann, M., Li, A., Hosey, M. M., and H. E. Hamm (1999) J. Biol. Chem. 274, 6610--6616). To selectively antagonize G protein signal transduction events and determine which G protein underlies a given thrombin-induced response, we generated minigene vectors that encode the C-terminal sequence for each family of G alpha subunits. Minigene vectors expressing G alpha C-terminal peptides (G alpha(i), G alpha(q), G alpha(12), and G alpha(13)) or the control minigene vector, which expresses the G alpha(i) peptide in random order (G(iR)), were systematically introduced into a human microvascular endothelial cell line. The C-terminal peptides serve as competitive inhibitors presumably by blocking the site on the G protein-coupled receptor that normally binds the G protein. Our results not only confirm that each G protein can control certain signaling events, they emphasize the specificity of the G protein-coupled receptor-G protein interface. In addition, the C-terminal G alpha minigenes appear to be a powerful tool for dissecting out the G protein that mediates a given physiological function following thrombin activation.

Protease-activated receptors 1 and 4 (PAR1 and PAR4) mediate thrombin signaling in human platelets. Whether these receptors are redundant, interact, or serve only partially overlapping functions is unknown. We report that PAR1 and PAR4 signal with distinct tempos. In transfected fibroblasts, PAR4 triggered substantially more phosphoinositide hydrolysis per activated receptor than PAR1 and was shut off more slowly than PAR1. Shutoff and internalization of PAR1 depends upon phosphorylation of its carboxyl tail upon receptor activation. In contrast to PAR1, phosphorylation of PAR4 was undetectable, and activation-dependent internalization of PAR4 was much slower than that seen for PAR1. Mutation of potential phosphorylation sites in the carboxyl tail of PAR1 enhanced PAR1 signaling, whereas analogous mutations in PAR4 had no effect. Thus PAR4 signaling is shut off less rapidly than PAR1, probably due to differences in receptor phosphorylation. PAR1 and PAR4 also signaled with distinct tempos in platelets. PAR1 triggered a rapid and transient increase in intracellular calcium, whereas PAR4 triggered a more prolonged response. Together, the tempo of these responses accounted for that triggered by thrombin. Thus differences in the rates at which PAR1 and PAR4 are shut off allow thrombin to trigger intracellular signaling with distinct temporal characteristics.

Extracellular interactions of plasma clotting factor VIIa (FVIIa) with tissue factor (TF) on cell surfaces trigger the intracellular signaling events. At present, it is unclear how these signals influence phenotype. To elucidate this, we have used cDNA microarray technology to examine changes in transcriptional program in human fibroblasts in response to exposure to FVIIa. cDNA microarrays revealed that FVIIa binding to TF up-regulated the expression of Cyr61 and CTGF (connective tissue growth factor), the genes that encode extracellular matrix signaling proteins Cyr61 and CTGF, respectively. Northern blot analysis confirmed that FVIIa binding to TF markedly increased the expression of Cyr61 and CTGF in a time- and dose-dependent manner. FVIIa catalytic activity is required for the gene induction. In addition to FVIIa, thrombin also induced the expression of Cyr61 and CTGF. Hirudin abolished the thrombin-induced expression of these mRNAs but not the FVIIa-induced expression. FVIIa-induced expression of Cyr61 appears not to involve the currently known protease-activated receptors (PARs), whereas thrombin-induced expression involves the activation of PAR1 and possibly an additional PAR. Various intracellular signaling pathway inhibitors exhibited different inhibitory pattern on FVIIa and thrombin-induced up-regulation of Cyr61. Cyr61 and CTGF could act as downstream mediators of FVIIa x TF in affecting various biological processes.

Three members of the family of protease-activated receptors (PARs), PARs-1, -3 and -4, have been identified as thrombin receptors. PAR-1 is expressed by primary myoblast cultures, and expression is repressed once myoblasts fuse to form myotubes. The current study was undertaken to investigate the hypothesis that thrombin inhibits myoblast fusion. Primary rodent myoblast cultures were deprived of serum to promote myoblast fusion and then cultured in the presence or absence of thrombin. Thrombin inhibited myoblast fusion, but another notable effect was observed; 50% of control cells were apoptotic within 24 h of serum deprivation, whereas less than 15% of thrombin-treated cells showed signs of apoptosis. Proteolysis was required for the effect of thrombin, but no other serine protease tested mimicked the action of thrombin. Neither a PAR-1- nor a PAR-4-activating peptide inhibited apoptosis or fusion, and myoblast cultures were negative for PAR-3 expression. Myoblasts exposed to thrombin for 1 h and then changed to medium without thrombin accumulated apoptosis inhibitory activity in their medium over the subsequent 20 h. Thus the protective action of thrombin appears to be effected through cleavage of an unidentified thrombin receptor, leading to secretion of a downstream apoptosis inhibitory factor. These results demonstrate that thrombin functions as a survival factor for myoblasts and is likely to play an important role in muscle development and repair.

This study examined the signal transduction pathways involved in thrombin-induced neuroprotection and compares these results with those of a similar study of thrombin-induced neuronal death. In thrombin-induced protection of astrocytes from hypoglycemia, pretreatment of astrocytes with tyrosine or serine/threonine kinase inhibitors, cytochalasin D, or exoenzyme C3, a potent inhibitor of the small GTPase RhoA, attenuated thrombin-induced protection. These same inhibitors were previously shown to block thrombin-induced cell death, implying a similarity in the cell death and cell-protective pathways. Biochemical assays determined that thrombin increased available RhoA activity, although more slowly and to a lesser extent than occurs in thrombin-induced cell death. A clear difference in these pathways was revealed when a time course study of thrombin-induced cell death indicated that unlike thrombin-induced protection, cells must be exposed to thrombin for >16 h to irreversibly enter the cell death pathway. Addition of lower doses of thrombin every 24 h also induced cell death. These studies indicate that exposure of cells to micromolar concentrations of thrombin alone does not induce cell death, but the continued exposure to thrombin is required. Thus the cell death and protective pathways may share initial signaling proteins, but differences in the amplitude as well as the duration of the signal may result in different final pathways.

Thrombin treatment causes a dose-dependent rounding of 1321N1 astrocytoma cells. This cytoskeletal response is rapid, peaking 2 h after thrombin stimulation, and reverses by 50% after 24 h. The thrombin receptor peptide SFLLRNP also induces cell rounding, whereas other G protein-linked receptor agonists such as carbachol, lysophosphatidic acid, or bradykinin fail to do so. Results of studies using pharmacological inhibitors do not support a requirement for phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase, mitogen-activated protein kinase, or Ca2+ mobilization in this response. Inhibition of protein kinase C or tyrosine kinase produces minimal blockade. Pertussis toxin treatment is also without effect. However, thrombin-induced rounding is fully blocked by the C3 toxin from Clostridium botulinum, which specifically ADP-ribosylates and inactivates the small G protein Rho. Thrombin also leads to a rapid, 2.4-fold increase in 32P incorporation into myosin light chain while carbachol does not. Myosin phosphorylation, like cell rounding is inhibited by inactivation of Rho with C3 exoenzyme, suggesting that myosin phosphorylation is necessary for this cytoskeletal response. This is supported by the observation that thrombin-induced rounding is also blocked by the myosin light chain kinase inhibitor KT5926. However, treatment with KT5926 fails to inhibit mitogenesis. Thus, cell rounding is not prerequisite to thrombin-induced DNA synthesis. We conclude that stimulation of the heterotrimeric G protein-coupled thrombin receptor in 1321N1 cells activates Rho-dependent pathways for both DNA synthesis and cell rounding, the cytoskeletal response being mediated in part through increases in myosin phosphorylation.

Thrombin is a multifunctional serine protease whose activity is regulated in the extravasculature by an extracellular inhibitor, protease nexin-1. Because protease nexin-1 expression has been shown to be regulated during skeletal muscle cell differentiation, we reasoned that thrombin inactivation may be an important requirement for this developmental process. To test this hypothesis, we examined the effects of thrombin on differentiating C2C12 myoblasts. We report here that myogenesis, as scored by myotube formation, is considerably delayed by thrombin. This regulation correlated with delayed expression of myogenin and p21(CIP1/WAF1), both considered critical components of the skeletal muscle cell differentiation program. Regulation occurred at the RNA level, indicating that the effect of thrombin is either transcriptional or post-transcriptional. Furthermore, we present evidence suggesting that this regulation is mediated by the thrombin receptor. Although thrombin is mitogenic for certain cell types, we found that delay of myogenesis in C2C12 cells did not involve a mitogenic signal. Taken together, these results imply that inhibition of the serine protease thrombin may be required for proper progression through the myogenic differentiation program. The data point to potentially important roles that thrombin and protease nexin-1 may play during skeletal muscle development.

Recombinant human prothrombin (rII) and two mutant forms (R155A, R271A,R284A (rMZ) and R271A,R284A (rMZdesF1)) were expressed in mammalian cells. Following activation and purification, recombinant thrombin (rIIa) and stable analogues of meizothrombin (rMZa) and meizothrombin(desF1) (rMZdesF1a) were obtained. Studies of the activation of protein C in the presence of recombinant soluble thrombomodulin (TM) show TM-dependent stimulation of protein C activation by all three enzymes and, in the presence of phosphatidylserine/phosphatidylcholine phospholipid vesicles, rMZa is 6-fold more potent than rIIa. In the presence of TM, rMZa was also shown to be an effective activator of TAFI (thrombin-activatable fibrinolysis inhibitor) (Bajzar, L., Manuel, R., and Nesheim, M. E. (1995) J. Biol. Chem. 270, 14477-14484). All three enzymes were capable of inducing platelet aggregation, but 60-fold higher concentrations of rMZa and rMZdesF1a were required to achieve the effects obtained with rIIa. Second order rate constants (M-1.min-1) for inhibition by antithrombin III (AT-III) were 2.44 x 10(5) (rIIa), 6.10 x 10(4) (rMZa), and 1.05 x 10(5) (rMZdesF1a). The inhibition of rMZa and rMZdesF1a by AT-III is not affected by heparin. All three enzymes bound similarly to hirudin. The results of this and previous studies imply that full-length meizothrombin has marginal procoagulant properties compared to thrombin. However, meizothrombin has potent anticoagulant properties, expressed through TM-dependent activation of protein C, and can contribute to down-regulation of fibrinolysis through the TM-dependent activation of TAFI.

Thrombin is a potent modulator of vascular tone and vascular smooth muscle cell (VSMC) mitogenesis. Early studies from other laboratories demonstrated that cyclic AMP (cAMP) antagonizes the mitogenic effects of platelet-derived growth factor and epidermal growth factor by inhibiting the extracellular signal-regulated protein kinases (ERKs; p42, p44) group of mitogen-activated protein kinases (MAPKs) in several cell types. This report examines the role of ERKs and Jun N-terminal kinase 1 (JNK1) groups of mitogen-activated protein kinases in thrombin-induced DNA synthesis in VSMCs using agents such as forskolin and dibutyrylcyclic AMP that increase intracellular cAMP levels. Both agents significantly inhibited thrombin-stimulated DNA synthesis in VSMCs. These agents, however, had no effect on thrombin induction of ERKs activation and c-Fos expression, suggesting divergence of the latter two events from the growth-signaling events of thrombin that are sensitive to inhibition by cAMP. Thrombin activated JNK1 and induced c-Jun expression in VSMCs in a time-dependent manner. In contrast to ERKs and c-Fos, thrombin-induced JNK1 activation and c-Jun expression were sensitive to inhibition by forskolin, suggesting an association of these events with thrombin-stimulated growth in these cells. Thrombin also increased AP-1 activity, and this response was significantly blunted by forskolin. Together, these results demonstrate a correlation between JNK1 activation and c-Jun expression by thrombin and their association with the mitogenic signaling events of thrombin in VSMCs.

Utilizing site-directed mutagenesis, 77 charged and polar residues that are highly exposed on the surface of human thrombin were systematically substituted with alanine. Functional assays using thrombin mutants identified residues that were required for the recognition and cleavage of the procoagulant substrate fibrinogen (Lys21, Trp50, Lys52, Asn53 + Thr55, Lys65, His66, Arg68, Tyr71, Arg73, Lys77, Lys106 + Lys107, Asp193 + Lys196, Glu202, Glu229, Arg233, Asp234) and the anticoagulant substrate protein C (Lys21, Trp50, Lys65, His66, Arg68, Tyr71, Arg73, Lys77, Lys106 + Lys107, Glu229, Arg233), interactions with the cofactor thrombomodulin (Gln24, Arg70) and inhibition by the thrombin aptamer, an oligonucleotide-based thrombin inhibitor (Lys65, His66, Arg70, Tyr71, Arg73). Although there is considerable overlap between the functional epitopes, distinct and specific residues with unique functions were identified. When the functional residues were mapped on the surface of thrombin, they were located on a single hemisphere of thrombin that included both the active site cleft and the highly basic exosite 1. No functional residues were located on the opposite face of thrombin. Residues with procoagulant or anticoagulant functions were not spatially separated but interdigitated with residues of opposite or shared function. Thus thrombin utilizes the same general surface for substrate recognition regardless of substrate function although the critical contact residues may vary.

Human mesangial cells have been used to study the regulation of thrombin receptor protein and mRNA expression during cross-talk between different signal transduction pathways. Persistent activation of thrombin receptor by thrombin led to homologous down-regulation of thrombin receptor protein. However, thrombin receptor mRNA expression was not affected, suggesting that increased receptor degradation is responsible for homologous down-regulation. Chronic activation of protein kinase C by phorbol 12-myristate 13-acetate (PMA) and of adenylylcyclase by prostaglandin E1 (PGE1) resulted in heterologous down-regulation of thrombin receptor protein. In contrast to thrombin, PMA and PGE1 reduced in parallel thrombin receptor mRNA levels to 51% and 24% of control, respectively, indicating that heterologous down-regulation of thrombin receptor protein is, at least in part, due to inhibition of receptor mRNA expression. The mechanisms of heterologous down-regulation of thrombin receptor protein have been studied in detail and compared to homologous down-regulation. PMA-induced down-regulation was completely blocked by GF 109 203 X, an inhibitor of protein kinase C. However, the loss of thrombin receptor induced by thrombin was not prevented by GF 109 203 X, indicating that homologous regulation is not dependent on protein kinase C activation. The heterologous effect of PGE1 was mimicked by 8-bromo-cAMP, isobutylmethylxanthine, and forskolin, suggesting that an increase in intracellular cAMP level is involved in heterologous regulation. Interestingly, heterologous down-regulation induced by PGE1 seems not to require previous internalization of thrombin receptor. These data indicate that thrombin receptor protein and mRNA expression can be regulated in homologous and heterologous ways by different mechanisms.

Prior studies using the mutant thrombin, thrombin Quick I, indicate that this protease induces maximum platelet aggregation and intraplatelet [Ca2+] fluxes at agonist concentrations where dissociable, equilibrium platelet binding is undetectable and led to the conclusion that thrombin interaction with its platelet "receptor" is best described kinetically by formation of an enzyme-substrate complex. This conclusion was substantiated further in the present studies by demonstrating that both thrombin Quick I and thrombin mimicked the thrombin receptor agonist peptide in the induction of the platelet activation-dependent events required for functional Prothrombinase assembly and that a rabbit antibody raised against KATNATLDPRSFLLR, a pentadecapeptide which represents amino acids 32-46 in the platelet thrombin receptor/substrate and spans the thrombin cleavage site, inhibited both thrombin- and thrombin Quick I-induced platelet activation responses equivalently. The antipeptide antibody had a more pronounced inhibitory effect on the rate of the thrombin-induced response rather than the magnitude of the response suggesting competition for the cleavage site, consistent with the observation that pretreatment of metabolically-inhibited platelets with thrombin, which was removed by washing, eliminated specific antibody binding due to removal and/or masking of antibody epitopes. Concentrations of the antipeptide antibody that inhibited thrombin- and thrombin Quick I-induced increases in intracellular [Ca2+] flux by as much as 97% did not alter the dissociable equilibrium binding of 125-I-FPR-thrombin to platelets. These combined data indicate that the hydrolytic event initiated by thrombin or thrombin Quick I interaction with the platelet receptor/substrate for thrombin is unrelated to the dissociable equilibrium binding of thrombin to membrane sites described previously by classical receptor-ligand binding analyses.

Lysophosphatidylcholine (LPC) increases extracellularly during ischemia in vivo in both animals and man as judged by measurements from venous effluents, but more recent studies have shown little or no increase in buffer-perfused, isolated heart preparations. The appearance of LPC in blood and lymph in animals and in venous effluents in man in response to ischemia suggests a vascular site for the production of LPC. The present study was performed to assess whether thrombin could stimulate phospholipase A2 in endothelial cells and whether this would evoke an increase in and release of LPC. Endothelial cells were disassociated from canine aortas by incubating with 0.1% collagenase for 20 min. Cells were plated and allowed to grow to confluence. Measurement of LPC was performed using Bligh and Dyer extraction of lipids, high performance liquid chromatography separation, and quantification of LPC using a recently developed radiometric assay employing [3H]acetic anhydride. Incubation of endothelial cells with thrombin (0.05 unit/ml) resulted in a 2.5-fold increase in LPC to 2.3 +/- 0.1 nmol/mg of protein at 2 min (p < 0.01) and returned to control levels within 20 min. The increase in LPC induced by thrombin exhibited a concentration-dependent response with an ED50 = 0.04 unit/ml. A concentration-dependent increase in LPC was also elicited by stimulation with the peptide portion of the thrombin receptor's tethered ligand SFLLRNPNDKYEPF with an ED50 = 8 microM. The LPC produced was rapidly and completely released into the surrounding media. Hirudin completely blocked the thrombin-induced increase in LPC. Dansylarginine N-(3-ethyl-1,5-pentanediyl)amide (0.1 microM), which rapidly inactivates thrombin's proteolytic activity in situ without impairing binding, or phenyl-prolyl-arginyl-chloromethyl ketone (PPACK, 5 nM), which inactivates thrombin due to chemical alteration of the proteolytic site, each prevented the increase in LPC in response to thrombin. Stimulation of protein kinase C with phorbol 12-myristate-13-acetate (PMA, 1 microM) enhanced the response to thrombin. In contrast, staurosporine (100 nM), H7 (15 microM), or chronic treatment with PMA for 20 h to down-regulate protein kinase C completely prevented the increase in LPC in response to thrombin. Thus, thrombin stimulation of endothelial cells in vivo during ischemia may be a primary mechanism contributing to the marked increase in LPC extracellularly during ischemia.

Mitogenesis induced by most polypeptide growth factors is mediated by either G-protein- or tyrosine kinase-linked receptor pathways. Thrombin, a potent mitogen for vascular smooth muscle cells, activates a G-protein-coupled receptor but also requires tyrosine kinase activity for its mitogenic effect (Weiss, R. H., and Nuccitelli, R. (1992) J. Biol. Chem. 267, 5608-5613). Since this growth factor elicits a synergistic effect on DNA synthesis when applied to cells concurrently with basic fibroblast growth factor (bFGF), we suspected that the two growth factors have points of convergence in their signaling pathways. We now show that when 1 unit/ml thrombin is removed after an incubation period of from 4 h to 15 min prior to 15 ng/ml bFGF addition, its synergistic effect with bFGF on mitogenesis in vascular smooth muscle cells is preserved. Furthermore, appearance of bFGF in the cellular lysate is maximal 1 h after the addition of 1 unit/ml thrombin. While monoclonal antibody to bFGF inhibits thrombin's mitogenic effect by 63% at 30 micrograms/ml, it lacks an inhibitory effect on platelet-derived growth factor-BB-induced mitogenesis. The inhibitory effect of bFGF antibody on thrombin's growth is completely reversed by the addition of bFGF. These data demonstrate that the presence of bFGF is essential for thrombin to exert its full mitogenic effect in vascular smooth muscle cells, providing an example of a system where a tyrosine kinase-linked growth factor receptor system can act as an essential intermediary in the mitogenic signaling pathway of a G-protein-coupled receptor.

Previous reports have shown that thrombin and activators of protein kinase C (PKC) inhibit neurite outgrowth (NOG) in neuroblastoma cells cultured in serum-free medium. Therefore, we tested the hypothesis that PKC activation mediates the effect of thrombin on NOG in murine neuroblastoma NB-2a cells. After 2 h in serum-free medium, 70% of the cells displayed neurites; addition of 300 ng/ml thrombin reduced NOG to 24% within 1 h. This inhibition was reduced after NB-2a cells were pretreated for 24 h with 200 nM phorbol dibutyrate down-regulate PKC. Thrombin and phorbol 12-myristate 13-acetate inhibited NOG in an additive way and the protein kinase inhibitors H-7, H-8, and HA1004 reversed the effect of thrombin on NOG with a rank order of activity consistent with PKC inhibition. Furthermore, PKC was translocated from the cytosol to a membrane-bound form 5 to 10 min after addition of thrombin. These findings indicate that thrombin inhibits NOG through a PKC-dependent pathway. Thrombin stimulates the synthesis of the phospholipid platelet-activating factor (PAF) in some cells. However, NOG was markedly stimulated when PAF or its analogue carbamyl-PAF were added to NB-2a cells in medium with serum. Furthermore, the PAF receptor antagonist SRI 63072 inhibited NOG in NB-2a cells in serum-free medium. These cells accumulated PAF with kinetics similar to that of NOG inducPAF was synthesized by the de novo pathway, as shown by the incorporation of [3H]choline. These findings suggest that PAF is a mediator of NOG in NB-2a cells. Thrombin neither stimulates nor inhibits PAF synthesis in these cells.

The involvement of platelet glycoprotein (GP) IIb-IIIa complex in calcium channel activity on the plasma membrane was investigated using an electrophysiological approach. Plasma membrane vesicles were prepared from thrombin-stimulated platelets and incorporated into planar lipid bilayers. Voltage-independent Ca2+ channel currents with a conductance of about 10 pS (in 53 mM Ba2+) were observed, in membranes derived from thrombin-stimulated, but not unstimulated platelet membranes. These channel activities were markedly reduced by exposure of membranes to EGTA at 37 degrees C. This reduction was specifically related to the dissociation of the GPIIb-IIIa complex since preincubation of the membranes with a monoclonal antibody to the GPIIb-IIIa complex (AP-2) could protect the channel activities from the effect of EGTA. Thrombasthenic platelets, which lack the GPIIb-IIIa complex, showed impaired channel activities characterized by decreased open probability and lowered conductance states. Furthermore, when platelets were stimulated by thrombin in the presence of EGTA, AP2, or the synthetic peptide RGDS, to prevent fibrinogen binding to the GPIIb-IIIa complex, open probabilities of the channel currents in these membrane vesicles were also decreased. These results suggest that the GPIIb-IIIa complex is involved in platelet Ca2+ channel activation and that ligand binding to the complex during platelet activation may modify the activation of Ca2+ channels.

Rabbit thrombomodulin (TM) influences blood coagulation by serving as a cofactor for thrombin-induced protein C activation (activity a), by directly affecting the procoagulant activity of thrombin (activity b) and by accelerating the inhibition of thrombin by antithrombin III (AT III) (activity c). Although high molecular weight cationic compounds, such as poly-L-lysine and the ionophore-releasate from human platelets, only partly affected activity a in a concentration-dependent manner, activities b and c, however, were almost totally inhibited by these cationic compounds. Likewise, a heparin- and dermatan sulfate-binding peptide which represents a portion of the glycosaminoglycan-binding domain of vitronectin (VN) selectively inhibited activities b and c, indicating the presence of clustered acidic domain(s) in TM responsible for these activities. While heparinase or heparitinase did not affect rabbit TM function at all, digestion of rabbit TM with chondroitin ABC-lyase abolished activities b and c, whereas activity a remained unaffected. Modification of rabbit TM with chondroitin ABC-lyase was associated with a decrease in molecular mass of the receptor by about 10 kDa and a 2- to 3-fold decrease in affinity to thrombin as deduced from direct binding studies. These results suggest that at least two acidic thrombin binding domains are present in rabbit TM, whereby a dermatan sulfate-like glycosaminoglycan moiety constitutes the secondary binding domain for thrombin, eliciting both the direct as well as the AT III-dependent anticoagulant function of rabbit TM (activities b and c) but not protein C activation (activity a). In contrast to rabbit TM, human TM isolated from placenta only showed weak activities b and c. These differences in reactivity of TM from different sources appeared to be due to the masking (or absence) of the proposed secondary thrombin binding site in human TM, since VN could be identified as a major contamination in the human TM preparation as revealed by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay and Western blot analysis. In addition, the major part of human TM could be immunoprecipitated by monospecific antibodies to VN. These findings indicate a possible modulatory function for VN in the human thrombin-TM system.

The sequential actions of phosphoinositide 4-kinase and 5-kinase and hydrolysis of phosphatidylinositol (PtdIns) 4,5-P2 are stimulated during platelet activation. Recently, a phosphoinositide 3-kinase has been implicated in signal transduction in several cell types. Stimulation of PtdIns(3,4)P2 synthesis has been shown in polyoma middle T-transformed and platelet-derived growth factor-stimulated cells, and this novel lipid has been implicated in signal transduction and regulation of cell proliferation. We demonstrate the formation of PtdIns(3,4)P2 in human platelets and show that the synthesis of this lipid (and of PtdIns(4,5)P2) is stimulated during activation of platelets by thrombin. This indicates the presence of phosphoinositide 3-kinase activity in platelets. We postulate that PtdIns(3,4)P2 is involved in signal transduction in platelets and discuss the possibility that this novel lipid is a substrate for phospholipase C.

Calcium-activated protease (CAP) was purified from the cytosol fraction of homogenized human platelet concentrates using a combination of gel filtration chromatography and affinity chromatography on antipain aminohexyl-Sepharose and activated thiol-Sepharose 4B. Purified CAP is composed of two different polypeptides of Mr = 80,000 and 27,000. Half-maximal protease activity was observed at 0.52 mM Ca2+, and all activity was inhibited by antipain, leupeptin, and N-ethylmaleimide. Activated CAP showed a time-dependent inactivation in the presence of 1 mM Ca2+ with only 5% of the control protease activity remaining after a 1-h exposure to calcium. Preincubation of washed platelets with varying amounts of CAP (0.2-0.4 units) significantly interfered with thrombin-induced platelet aggregation. In addition, ristocetin-induced platelet agglutination in the presence of von Willebrand factor was completely inhibited by 0.4 units of CAP. Concomitant with these protease-induced changes in platelet function, a decrease was observed in a major glycoprotein band of Mr = 150,000 present in platelet membranes and presumed to be glycoprotein Ib. In addition to these effects on platelets, CAP inhibited thrombin-induced production of prostacyclin by cultured human endothelial cells in a dose-dependent manner when the cells were pretreated with CAP. Thus platelet CAP can modulate membrane functions in both platelets and endothelial cells and may thus contribute to the regulation of hemostasis.

Protein C is activated rapidly when thrombin binds to a specific cell surface cofactor protein, thrombomodulin. Studies were initiated to determine the influence of thrombin-thrombomodulin complex formation on the substrate specificity of thrombin. When thrombin binds to thrombomodulin, the resultant complex retains less than 1% of the fibrinogen clotting activity of free thrombin. Permanent alteration of the thrombin molecule is not involved since full clotting activity is regenerated by incubation of the complex with excess diisopropyl phosphothrombin. Unlike the activation of protein C by the thrombin-thrombomodulin complex which is dependent on Ca2+, inhibition of fibrinogen clotting activity is not dependent on the presence of divalent metal ions. Formation of the thrombin-thrombomodulin complex also inhibits thrombin activation of factor V. Despite these changes in macromolecular substate specificity, no significant change in the hydrolysis of the synthetic substrates p-tosyl-L-arginine methyl ester and N alpha-benzoyl-L-arginine ethyl ester is detected upon formation of the thrombin-thrombomodulin complex. Formation of this complex results in a slight increase in the Km (from 9.0 +/- 0.4 to 10.2 +/- 0.6 microM) and Vmax (from 230 +/- 10 to 270 +/- 10 mol/s/mol of thrombin) for the specific thrombin substrate H-D-Phe-Pip-Arg-p-nitroanilide. These studies suggest that thrombomodulin has two distinct anticoagulant functions: 1) to inhibit the ability of thrombin to clot fibrinogen and to activate factor V; and 2) to accelerate the formation of the anticoagulant, activated protein C.

To identify structures on the platelet surface which become expressed after platelet activation, we have prepared murine monoclonal antibodies specific for thrombin-activated platelets. Hybridomas were screened for clones producing antibodies which bound to thrombin-activated platelets but not to resting platelets. Clone KC4 was identified. The binding of purified I-labeled KC4 antibody, an IgG1k, to thrombin-activated platelets was saturable. Minimal binding was observed to resting platelets. The interaction of antibody with thrombin-activated platelets was characterized by a binding constant, KD, of 7.2 +/- 0.4 nM and revealed 13,400 +/- 3,000 binding sites per platelet. The presence of Ca2+ or EDTA, a pH ranging from 4 to 10, or high ionic strength had no influence on antigen-antibody interaction. The KC4 antigen was expressed on the platelet surface after activation with ADP, collagen, epinephrine, or thrombin. The extent of [14C] serotonin release during activation was directly proportional to the availability of antigen on the platelet surface regardless of agonist or platelet aggregation. The antibody is directed against a single protein which migrated between GPIIb and GPIIa after sodium dodecyl sulfate gel electrophoresis. This protein was purified from platelet membranes by immunoaffinity chromatography using KC4 antibody-agarose and demonstrated an apparent molecular weight of 140,000 in sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis under both nonreducing and reducing conditions. Of the cells examined, only platelets contained this protein. These results indicate that platelet secretion is associated with the expression of an Mr = 140,000 integral membrane protein composed of a single polypeptide chain. This protein may be component of the internal granule membrane which is fused with the plasma membrane during activation.

alpha-Thrombin induces a dose-dependent rapid transient increase in platelet cytosolic Ca2+ levels, coming solely from intracellular stores, since EGTA has no effect. In contrast, the post-stimulation equilibrium [Ca2+]in depends upon an influx from the extracellular milieu, and is lower in the presence of EGTA. We measured the Ca2+ transient (with Indo-1, 1-[2-amino-5-(6-carboxyindol-2-yl)-phenoxy]-2-(2'-amino-5'-methylp henoxy)- ethane-N,N,N',N'-tetraacetic acid), cytosolic alkalinization (with BCECF, 2',7-bis-(2-carboxyethyl)-5(and 6)-carboxyfluorescein), membrane depolarization (with diS-C3-(5), 3,3'-dipropylthiodi-carbocyanide iodide), and degranulation (by beta-glucuronidase release) induced in washed human platelets by 9 nM thrombin in the absence or presence of extracellular or intracellular Ca2+ chelating agents (EGTA and BAPTA, 5,5'-dimethyl-bis-(o-aminophenoxy)-ethane-N,N,N',N'-tetraacetic acid, respectively). Platelets loaded simultaneously with 2 microM Indo-1 and 15 microM BAPTA (each as the acetoxymethyl ester) before addition of thrombin exhibited no cytoplasmic Ca2+ transient or alkalinization, no depolarization or degranulation. Replenishment of such cells with extracellular CaCl2 restored resting [Ca2+]in. Upon stimulation with 9 nM thrombin these replenished platelets exhibited no Ca2+ transient, and a slow gradual increase in [Ca2+]in from extracellular stores, a slow alkalinization and depolarization, and partial degranulation, all abolished by extracellular EGTA. Thus thrombin-induced platelet activation exhibits a biphasic Ca2+ requirement: the initial transient increase in [Ca2+]in comes from intracellular stores only, while the later steps of depolarization, alkalinization, and degranulation can proceed, albeit more slowly, if only extracellular Ca2+ is available.

Thrombin-activated vitamin K-dependent protein C purified from human plasma has a potent anticoagulant effect on human plasma, whereas its bovine counterpart has a very weak anticoagulant effect on human plasma. This species difference was found to be partly due to a more rapid degradation of human factor Va by human than by bovine activated protein C. In the presence of phospholipid, activated human protein C cleaves several peptide bonds in fragment D (heavy chain of factor Va), whereas in fragment F1F2 (light chain of factor Va) there appears to be only one peptide bond that is slowly cleaved. The degradation of fragment D is accompanied by a parallel loss of factor V activity. With the blood coagulation factor Xa bound to factor Va, fragment D is protected from degradation by activated protein C, and factor Va remains active. Fragment D isolated from factor Va was exposed to activated protein C in the presence of phospholipid and was found not to be degraded. This observation suggests that fragment D of factor V is bound to phospholipid via fragment F1F2.

The cholesterol to phospholipid mole ratio (C/PL) of human platelets was increased 1.3-fold or maintained at a normal value by incubating platelets with sonicated dispersions of cholesterol and phosphatidylcholine (PC) (C/PL = 3 or 1, respectively). Thrombin-induced mobilization of [3H]arachidonic acid from prelabeled phospholipids and subsequent formation of labeled cyclo-oxygenase and lipoxygenase products were increased in cholesterol-enriched platelets as a function of thrombin concentration. Elevated platelet cholesterol content affected thrombin-induced changes in platelet phospholipids: (a) hydrolysis of PC was more sensitive to thrombin and was markedly enhanced over a wide range of thrombin concentrations (0.1-2 units/ml); (b) hydrolysis of phosphatidylinositol (PI) was increased at thrombin concentrations greater than or equal to 0.2 unit/ml. Increased metabolism of [3H]arachidonic acid in stimulated cholesterol-enriched platelets was due to loss of [3H]arachidonate from PC at 0.1 unit/ml of thrombin. At higher thrombin concentrations (0.2-2 units/ml) it reflected enhanced hydrolysis of predominantly PC, but also PI. We conclude that cholesterol, possibly through its effect on platelet lipid organization, influences arachidonic acid metabolism in stimulated plates by promoting enhanced activity of platelet phospholipase(s) for liberation of arachidonic acid.

Mepacrine has been used as an inhibitor of the activation of endogenous phospholipases in many systems. These endogenous phospholipases are important in the modification of the lipid environment of membrane proteins and in the release of locally active oxygenated arachidonic acid metabolites. In both human platelets and erythrocytes, mepacrine blocks the release of fatty acid from phospholipid by endogenous phospholipases. However, mepacrine also interacts directly with membrane phospholipids, primarily phosphatidylethanolamine, to form less polar derivatives. This interaction occurs rapidly and is maximal at concentrations of mepacrine greater than 0.2 mM. Such drug-phospholipid interaction may perturb membrane architecture and function and be responsible for the inhibitory effects of mepacrine on cellular responses observed in many systems. Since the alteration in membrane phospholipid composition occurs under the same conditions as phospholipase inhibition, it is not possible to be certain that the inhibition of cellular responses by mepacrine is due to inhibition of phospholipases rather than to direct perturbation of the membrane. It is also possible that inhibition of phospholipase action by mepacrine is in part a consequence of the change in phospholipid composition. These results indicate that caution should be exercised in the interpretation of results obtained using mepacrine and that the usefulness of this compound for the investigation of the biological importance of phospholipase activation is limited.

The interaction of isolated and radioiodinated thrombospondin with washed human platelets has been characterized. The ligand bound to nonstimulated and thrombin-stimulated platelets in a time-dependent manner, and apparent steady state was reached within 25 min. Binding was not due to iodination of the ligand and was inhibited by nonlabeled thrombospondin but not by unrelated proteins, and bound ligand was identical with thrombospondin in terms of subunit structure. Nonlinear curve-fitting analyses of binding to resting platelets suggested the presence of a single class of sites which bound 3,100 +/- 1,000 molecules/platelet with an apparent Kd of 50 +/- 20 nM. This interaction was not attributable to contaminating cells or inadvertant platelet activation. Binding to thrombin-stimulated platelets had a lower apparent affinity (Kd = 250 +/- 100 nM) and higher apparent capacity (35,600 +/- 9,600 molecules/platelet). Thrombin-enhanced binding was dependent upon agonist dose and platelet stimulation. Fibrinogen, a monoclonal antibody to GPIIb-IIIa, temperature, and divalent ions had differential effects upon thrombospondin binding to resting and stimulated platelets, suggesting the presence of two distinct mechanisms of thrombospondin binding to platelets. While thrombospondin binding to thrombin-stimulated platelets occurs with characteristics similar to those observed for fibrinogen, fibronectin, and von Willebrand Factor, its high affinity interaction with resting platelets is unique to this adhesive glycoprotein.

Heparin accelerates the rate of reaction of antithrombin with thrombin, an effect which is abolished by mild reduction of the antithrombin with dithiothreitol. Reduced antithrombin incorporates 1.7 mol of [14C]acetamide/mol of protein, with cysteine as the only amino acid modified. Tryptic digestion of the reduced and alkylated antithrombin results in the formation of only two labeled peptides. In the absence of heparin, the second order rate constant for the reaction of thrombin with both reduced and native antithrombin is 5.9 to 9.6 x 10(5) M-1 min-1. In the presence of heparin, the rate constant for the reaction between reduced antithrombin and thrombin is 8.3 to 12.2 x 10(5) M-1 min-1, while the rate of reaction between native antithrombin and thrombin is too fast to follow under the conditions used. Reduced antithrombin elutes from a heparin-Sepharose column at 0.5 M NaCl, contrast to 10 M NaCl required for elution of the native protein. The intrinsic tryptophan fluorescence enhancement caused by heparin binding to native antithrombin is not observed with reduced antithrombin. These data indicate that cleavage of one of the three antithrombin disulfide bonds results in reduced affinity for heparin and the loss of heparin-accelerated antithrombin activity and imply that heparin and thrombin bind at different sites on the antithrombin molecule.

When platelets are activated by agonists, calcium (Ca2+) is released from an intracellular storage site. Recent studies using fura-2 show that, after thrombin stimulation, the rise in free calcium is transient and returns to base-line levels in 2-3 min, while the transient following ADP stimulation lasts only 15-20 s. We reported previously that the phorbol ester 12,13-phorbol myristate acetate (PMA), added at nanomolar levels after thrombin, immediately accelerated the rate of return of calcium to the base line severalfold (Yoshida, K., Dubyak, G., and Nachmias, V.T. (1986) FEBS Lett. 206, 273-278). In the present study, we used both intact and saponized platelets to determine whether this is due to stimulation of calcium sequestration. Using fura-2 and intact platelets, we found 1) that PMA stimulated the restoration of free Ca2+ levels after ADP as well as after thrombin, and 2) that H-7, an inhibitor of protein kinase C (Ca2+/phospholipid-dependent enzyme), slowed the return of Ca2+ to baseline levels. Using saponized platelets, we also found 3) that pretreatment of platelets with PMA before saponin treatment increased the ATP-dependent 45Ca2+ uptake 2-fold, with a half-maximal effect at 5 nm; 4) that most of the Ca2+ released by ionomycin or by myoinositol 1,4,5-trisphosphate; and 5) that a GTP-binding protein inhibitor, guanosine 5'-O-(2-thiodiphosphate), decreased basal or PMA-stimulated 45Ca2+ uptake in saponin-treated platelets. Our data suggest that activation of protein kinase C stimulates the sequestration of Ca2+ independently of cAMP or myoinositol 1,4,5-trisphosphate.

Sphingosine is a potent inhibitor of [3H]phorbol dibutyrate binding and protein kinase C activity in vitro and in human platelets (Hannun, Y., Loomis, C., Merrill, A., and Bell, R. (1986) J. Biol. Chem. 261, 12604-12609). Preincubation of platelets with sphingosine resulted in the inhibition of platelet secretion and second phase aggregation in response to ADP, gamma-thrombin, collagen, arachidonic acid, and platelet activating factor. Sphingosine did not affect the initial shape change of platelets or the first phase of aggregation in response to these agonists. Ristocetin-induced platelet agglutination was not affected by sphingosine. Sphingosine inhibition of secondary aggregation (secretion and second phase aggregation) was overcome by phorbol dibutyrate and by the cell-permeable protein kinase C activator, dioctanoylglycerol. Furthermore, platelet secretion and irreversible aggregation were induced by protein kinase C activators in platelets that had been "primed" to undergo initial shape change and first phase aggregation by low concentrations of agonists. These results suggest that protein kinase C activation is a necessary component in the signal transducing pathways that lead to platelet activation. Higher concentrations of agonists, however, induced irreversible aggregation and partial secretion in the presence of sphingosine, suggesting the existence of protein kinase C-independent pathways for platelet activation. These results demonstrate the utility of sphingosine as a pharmacologic tool in probing the role of protein kinase C in signal transduction.

We have used a renaturation method to search for previously unidentified protein kinases in human platelets. The method involves subjecting lysates to denaturing gel electrophoresis, transferring the proteins to blotting membranes, and treating the blotted proteins with guanidine. The guanidine is then removed to allow the proteins to renature, and the blots are overlaid with [gamma-32P]ATP. We have identified 14 electrophoretically distinct, serine/threonine-specific protein kinases. Eleven of the kinases clearly differ in molecular weight from all previously described platelet serine/threonine kinases. Ten of these novel kinases (PK220, PK200, PK170, PK150, PK64, PK60, PK56, PK52, PK48, and PK40) were found to possess markedly increased in vitro activity when isolated from thrombin-stimulated platelets, presumably as a result of thrombin-stimulated covalent modification. Treatment of intact platelets with the calcium ionophore ionomycin and phorbol 12-myristate 13-acetate also increased the in vitro activity of these kinases. The agonist-stimulated kinases could be divided into three classes: 1) one kinase whose activity was increased by in vivo phorbol ester treatment but not by ionomycin (PK150); 2) two kinases whose activity was increased by ionomycin but not phorbol ester (PK48 and PK40); 3) seven kinases whose activity was markedly increased by combinations of phorbol ester and ionomycin, but not by either agent alone (PK220, PK200, PK170, PK64, PK60, PK56, and PK52). This third mode of regulation is what would be expected of enzymes that mediate the biological effects of inositide-mobilizing stimuli.

A chemical cross-linking approach has been used to characterize the interaction of platelets with small peptides of 7 and 14 residues containing the arginyl-glycyl-aspartic acid (RGD) sequence recognized by a variety of cellular adhesion receptors. The radioiodinated peptides were bound to platelets, and chemical cross-linking was attained by subsequent addition of bifunctional reagents. Three different cross-linking reagents coupled the RGD-containing peptides to platelet membrane glycoprotein IIb-IIIa (GPIIb-IIIa), and both subunits of this platelet membrane glycoprotein became radiolabeled with the RGD peptides. Platelet stimulation with agonists including thrombin, phorbol myristrate acetate, and ADP increased the extent of cross-linking by predominantly enhancing the coupling of the RGD peptides to the GPIIIa subunit. Cross-linking of the labeled RGD peptides to GPIIb and GPIIIa on stimulated and nonstimulated platelets exhibited structural specificity and was inhibited by excess nonlabeled RGD peptides. The interactions were inhibited by nonlabeled RGD peptides and a peptide with an amino acid sequence corresponding to the carboxyl terminus of the gamma chain of fibrinogen but less effectively by an arginyl-glycyl-glutamic acid peptide. Cross-linking of the RGD peptides to GPIIb-IIIa was divalent ion-dependent and, on stimulated platelets, was inhibited by the adhesive proteins fibrinogen and fibronectin, but not by albumin. These results indicate that the RGD-binding sites on platelets reside in close proximity to both subunits of GPIIb-IIIa and that platelet stimulation alters the topography of these sites such that the peptides become more efficiently cross-linked to GPIIIa.

The present study compares the molecular mechanism by which thrombin, platelet-activating factor, and epinephrine induce platelet activation. Thrombin and platelet-activating factor induce an initial activation of phospholipase C, as measured by formation of 1,2-diacylglycerol and phosphatidic acid, during platelet shape change which is independent of and dissociated from metabolism of arachidonic acid. Phospholipase C activation and shape change are independent of extracellular Ca2+ and Mg2+. Formation of cyclooxygenase products occurs subsequent to the initial activation of phospholipase C and those metabolites are associated with platelet aggregation and further activation of phospholipase C. On the other hand, epinephrine is an unique platelet stimulus since it requires extracellular divalent cations and does not induce platelet shape change or activation of phospholipase C. Our results indicate that activation of phospholipase C may be a mechanism by which physiological agonists can activate platelets independently of extracellular divalent cations.

Attempts were made to isolate a 74,000-dalton protein which specifically and competitively blocked platelet aggregation by thrombin (Ganguly, P., and Fossett, N. G. (1981) Blood 57, 343-352) by two independent affinity chromatography methods. The protein isolates showed a main band migrating slightly faster than albumin in gel electrophoresis under nondenaturing conditions. In the presence of sodium dodecyl sulfate, electrophoresis of protein preparations consistently revealed the presence of four polypeptides of 74,000, 55,000, 27,000, and 20,000 daltons. The results suggest that these polypeptides are probably present as a multiprotein complex in platelets. The 55,000-dalton protein, like the 74,000-dalton protein, inhibited thrombin-induced platelet aggregation, while aggregation induced by adenosine diphosphate or trypsin was not significantly affected. However, incubation of the 55,000-dalton protein with the 74,000-dalton protein prior to the addition of thrombin did not inhibit platelet aggregation by thrombin, while the individual components under the same conditions did. In fact, the two proteins in combination could significantly enhance platelet aggregation by thrombin. These results suggest the existence of a multiprotein complex in human platelets, the components of which may modulate the action of thrombin on platelet aggregation.

The biochemical mechanisms responsible for regulating cellular platelet-derived growth factor expression are incompletely understood. Our previous studies have shown that platelet-derived growth factor B/c-sis mRNA levels are induced in human renal microvascular endothelial cells by either thrombin or transforming growth factor (TGF-beta), while exposure to agents which elevate cAMP levels blocks the induction responses. The current studies use combined transcription run-off and message decay rate experiments to show greater than 3-fold increases in rate of transcription after stimulation with either thrombin or TGF-beta. c-sis message has a 70-90-min half-life under basal conditions that is effectively unaltered by thrombin or TGF-beta. Forskolin does not decrease the stability of c-sis mRNA, although it attenuates transcription increases seen with inducing agents. TGF-beta induction of c-sis transcription is mediated independent of the protein kinase C (Ca2+- and phospholipid-dependent enzyme)-mediated responses to phorbol ester, as it remains intact following down-regulation of protein kinase C response; TGF-beta and phorbol elicit additive induction. Inhibitory effects of cAMP upon transcription act distal to early thrombin-receptor-coupled increases in phosphatidylinositol turnover and are capable of turning off TGF-beta-activated transcription after activation has been established. Both inducing and suppressing agents alter endothelial platelet-derived growth factor B/c-sis mRNA expression dominantly through effects upon rates of transcription, cAMP suppression of transcription is dominant, and TGF-beta and phorbol esters mediate induction of transcription through distinct pathways.

The addition of thrombin to horse platelets prelabeled with 32P induces a rapid decrease of the radioactivity from phosphatidylinositol 4,5-bisphosphate. Maximum loss of the radioactivity from phosphatidylinositol 4,5-bisphosphate occurs with 10 s of stimulation and is followed by an increased incorporation of 32P into this lipid. The stimulation of phosphatidylinositol 4,5-bisphosphate loss by thrombin is concentration-dependent. The ionophore A23187, which mobilizes Ca2+, is ineffective in inducing the degradation of phosphatidylinositol 4,5-bisphosphate. Measurements of polyphosphoinositides by phosphorus estimation show that, 10 s after thrombin stimulation, there is a decrease of 15-20% of the total phosphatidylinositol 4,5-bisphosphate without any significant change in phosphatidylinositol 4-monophosphate. It appears that thrombin causes a rapid and transient degradation of phosphatidylinositol 4,5-bisphosphate and that this effect might be related to the initiation of platelet activation.

When human platelets were stimulated by synthetic diacylglycerol such as 1-oleoyl-2-acetyl-glycerol, which was a potent activator in vitro of Ca2+-activated, phospholipid-dependent protein kinase (protein kinase C) (Mori, T., Takai, Y., Yu, B., Takahashi, J., Nishizuka, Y., and Fujikura, T. (1982) J. Biochem. (Tokyo) 91, 427-431), a protein having Mr approximately 40,000 (40-kilodalton protein) was rapidly phosphorylated, just as it was by natural extracellular messengers such as thrombin. Fingerprint analysis appeared to indicate that protein kinase C was indeed responsible for this 40-kilodalton protein phosphorylation in intact platelets. Under these conditions, neither inositol phospholipid breakdown nor endogenous diacylglycerol formation was observed, indicating that the synthetic diacylglycerol intercalated into the membrane and directly activated protein kinase C without interaction with cell surface receptors. During this process, the diacylglycerol was converted in situ to the corresponding phosphatidate, 1-oleoyl-2-acetyl-glyceryl-3-phosphoric acid. Experiments with the synthetic diacylglycerol and Ca2+ ionophore A23187 suggested that the protein phosphorylation catalyzed by protein kinase C was a prerequisite requirement for the release of serotonin, and that the receptor-linked protein phosphorylation and Ca2+ mobilization acted synergistically to elicit the full physiological cellular response.