Gene/Protein Disease Symptom Drug Enzyme Compound
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Query: EC:3.4.21.7 (plasmin)
 9,023 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

Plasmin has been reported to activate and inhibit platelet function depending on dose and exposure temperature. The present study examines the induction of fibrinogen-dependent platelet aggregation following prolonged (60 min) platelet exposure to very low doses of plasmin (0.05 CU/ml) at either 22 or 37 degrees C. Maximum aggregation [mean +/- SD, 60 +/- 19 light transmission units (LTU); n = 43] occurred following platelet exposure to plasmin at 22 degrees C, but significant platelet aggregation (28 +/- 4 LTU, n = 3) also occurred following plasmin treatment at 37 degrees C. Plasmin-induced platelet aggregates appeared microscopically larger than aggregates of adenosine diphosphate (ADP)-activated platelets, and were less reversible. Aggregated plasmin-treated platelets also expressed more procoagulant activity than platelets aggregated with ADP, as reflected by shortening of the plasma kaolin recalcification time. Aggregation of platelets exposed to very low doses of plasmin was not accompanied by dense or alpha-granule secretion, and was unaffected by ADP antagonists or aspirin. Partial inhibition of platelet aggregation, however, was achieved with metabolic inhibitors, PGE1, and inhibitors of phosphoinositide 3-kinase or protein kinase C. Although fibrinogen was required for plasmin-treated platelet aggregation, [125I]-fibrinogen binding comprised only 58 +/- 3% (n = 3) of fibrinogen binding associated with ADP aggregated platelets. This was consistent with observed decreases in reptilase-induced fibrin clot retraction. Taken together, these data suggest that sustained exposure of platelets to very low plasmin doses leads to platelet activation and thus may contribute to thrombotic complications in vivo.
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PMID:Platelet activation by sustained exposure to low-dose plasmin. 1155 94

A number of RGD-type integrins rely on a synergistic site in addition to the canonical RGD site for ligand binding and signaling, although it is still unclear whether these two recognition sites function independently, synergistically, or competitively. Experimental evidence has suggested that fibrinogen binding to the RGD-type integrin alphaIIbbeta3 occurs exclusively through the synergistic gamma(400-411) sequence, thus questioning the functional role of the RGD recognition site. Here we have investigated the respective role of the fibrinogen gamma(400-411) sequence and the RGD motif in the molecular events leading to ligand-induced alphaIIbbeta3-dependent Chinese hamster ovary (CHO) cell or platelet spreading, by using intact fibrinogen and well characterized plasmin-generated fibrinogen fragments containing either the RGD motif (fragment C) or the gamma(400-411) sequence (fragment D), and CHO cells expressing resting wild type (alphaIIbbeta3wt), constitutively active (alphaIIbbeta3T562N), or non-functional (alphaIIbbeta3D119Y) receptors. Our data provide evidence that the gamma(400-411) site by itself is able to initiate alphaIIbbeta3 clustering and recruitment of intracellular proteins to early focal complexes, mediating cell attachment, FAK phosphorylation, and Rac1 activation, while the RGD motif subsequently acts as a molecular switch on the beta3 subunit to trigger cell spreading. More importantly, we show that the premier functional role of the RGD site is not to reinforce cell attachment but, rather, to imprint a conformational change on the beta3 subunit leading to maximal RhoA activation and actin cytoskeleton organization in CHO cells as well as in platelets. Finally, alphaIIbbeta3-dependent RhoA stimulation and cell spreading, but not cell attachment, are Src-dependent and phosphoinositide 3-kinase-independent and are inhibited by the Src antagonist PP2.
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PMID:A new functional role of the fibrinogen RGD motif as the molecular switch that selectively triggers integrin alphaIIbbeta3-dependent RhoA activation during cell spreading. 1595 23