Gene/Protein Disease Symptom Drug Enzyme Compound
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Query: EC:3.4.21.73 (urokinase-type plasminogen activator)
 10,685 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

Since the introduction of synthetic chromogenic and fluorogenic peptide substrates from serine proteases, the testing of coagulation has undergone a dramatic conceptual and methodological change. The concept of coagulation profiling has emerged and automated methodologies are being introduced. Synthetic substrate methods for the evaluation of antithrombin-III; progressive antithrombin; plasminogen; antiplasmin; prekallikrein; antikallikrein ; alpha 1-antitrypsin; prothrombin; heparin; platelet factor IV; urokinase; tissue activator of plasminogen; factor assays; amidolytic equivalents of prothrombin time; and partial thromboplastin time have been developed. Studies on antithrombin-III indicate that immunological methods evaluate the total immunoreactive-antithrombin-III (antigenic) level and do not discriminate between functionally active forms and the AT-III serine protease complex. The clinical significance of AT-III measured by immunological methods is highly questionable. The coagulant assays for the measurement of AT-III require purified alpha-thrombin preparations. The noncoagulant forms of thrombin (beta- and gamma-) result in falsely low antithrombin-III quantitation. The molecular heterogeneity in a given thrombin preparation if standardized in terms of its amidolytic activity does not produce any errors in the quantitation of AT-III levels with synthetic peptide methods. None of the immunological methods provide clinically relevant information except in normal plasma where the immunological and functional activities are identical. Analysis of pathologic plasma samples using laser nephelometry, radial immunodiffusion and radioimmunoassay methods revealed that the functional activity of various serine protease inhibitors is greatly reduced but the reduction in the immunological quantities is minimal. Since coagulation proteins are functional, a ratio between their functional activity and absolute protein levels may be a useful parameter. Employing human and bovine thrombin; bovine and human Xa with their respective substrates, the absolute quantitation of heparin is satisfactorily carried out, however, these assays only measure heparin concentrations and do not reflect the overall anticoagulant effect of heparin. Using the synthetic substrates, the value of measuring absolute concentrations of heparin in a patient on heparin therapy is questionable. With the introduction of fluorogenic substrates, the presence of activated coagulation factors may be demonstrated in patients with thrombotic disorders.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)
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PMID:Synthetic peptide substrates in hemostatic testing. 637 39

Tissue-type plasminogen activator (t-PA), purified from the culture fluid of a stable human melanoma cell line, is a serine protease, different from urokinase, with a molecular weight of about 70,000. It is composed of one polypeptide chain, which is converted to a two-chain molecule by limited plasmic action. Activation of plasminogen to plasmin occurs by cleavage of the Arg 560-Val 561 peptide bond. Kinetic analysis has shown that the activation obeys Michaelis-Menten kinetics and that the presence of fibrin strikingly enhances the activation rate by increasing the affinity of plasminogen for fibrin-bound t-PA. The directed action of plasmin toward fibrin in vivo, might be explained by the low Michaelis constant in the presence of fibrin (0.16 microM), which allows efficient plasminogen activation on a fibrin clot, while its high value in the absence of fibrin (65 microM) prevents efficient activation in plasma. Plasmin formed on the fibrin surface would then be protected from rapid inactivation by alpha 2-antiplasmin. An important consequence of this molecular model for physiological fibrinolysis is that specific thrombolysis is only expected with the use of a specific plasminogen activator, which confines activation to the fibrin surface. Studies on the thrombolytic properties of purified t-PA in various animal species and in humans have revealed a higher specific thrombolytic activity than urokinase. Thrombolysis could be achieved without causing significant plasminogen activation, alpha 2-antiplasmin consumption, or fibrinogen breakdown. Alternatively, pro-urokinase, the zymogen precursor of urokinase, also displays a certain degree of fibrin specificity. Its mechanism of action and potential therapeutic value remain to be established.
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PMID:New approaches to thrombolytic therapy. 643 77

Tissue plasminogen activator (TPA) is a serine protease involved in the fibrinolytic system that dissolves blood clots. The enzyme catalyzes the conversion of a zymogen, plasminogen, to the enzymatically active form, plasmin, by limited proteolysis. In the course of searching for specific activity assays that might be useful in monitoring the purification of TPA, we have developed several coupled photometric assays. In addition, radioactive, agarose-plate, and other activity assays have also been considered and investigated for this purpose (Table 1). We have previously reported the one-step photometric procedure consisting of a thioester, thiobenzyl benzyloxycarbonyl-lysine (Z-Lys-S-Bzl) and fibrinogen-coated plates. It is simpler and more sensitive than the old two-step method without using immobilized fibrinogen. The new assay has been used successfully for protein purification and can be easily adapted to automated processes. Recently, other chromogenic substrates, D-Val-L-Leu-L-Lys-p-nitroanilide (Val-Leu-Lys-pNA) and D-Ile-L-Pro-L-Arg-p-nitroanilide (Ile-Pro-Arg-pNA) were also used in the one-step assay. It is found that TPA activity is greatly enhanced by immobilized fibrinogen and free fibrinogen when either the thioester. Val-Leu-Lys-pNA, or Ile-Pro-Arg-pNA were used in the colorimetric assay (Fig. 1, A-D). Enzyme kinetics studies indicate that the Km for plasminogen assayed on the thioester and fibrinogen-coated plates is 1.5 micrograms per ml, which is substantially lower than that observed in untreated plates (4.8 micrograms per ml). This is not due to the effect of fibrinogen on the second step of the coupled photometric assay because there is no change in the plasmin activity under these conditions (Fig. 1E). Similar results in TPA activation have also been observed, when fibrin-coated plates were used. Free fibrinogen, which is an activator of TPA, has been included in the standard assay mixture. We are able to detect less than 1 ng of TPA activity within a one-hour incubation time at 20 degrees C (Fig. 2A). In the thioester assay, however, high concentrations of reducing agents and nonspecific proteins cause significant background due to the interaction of DTNB with these reagents. 125I-labeled fibrin-coated plates had been extensively used in the past for urokinase and TPA assays. Although the sensitivity of the radioactive procedure is equivalent to that of the thioester photometric method, it appears that the kinetics of the enzyme are not easy to follow nor is the reproducibility great.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)
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PMID:Current status of activity assays for tissue plasminogen activator. 644 2

Preparations of outer membrane of two strains of Escherichia coli contain a protease that can activate the serum zymogen plasminogen to the active protease plasmin. The amount of plasmin formed is proportional to the membrane concentration. The kinetics of plasminogen activation are linear and obey the Michaelis--Menten rate equation. The Km(app) for the activation of dog plasminogen by E. coli outer membrane preparations is similar to the Km(app) for the activation of dog plasminogen by human urokinase. The E. coli enzyme is active in a membrane-associated form, as opposed to a secreted or soluble form, and is most likely a serine protease because it is inhibited by diisopropyl fluorophosphate. It is also inhibited from activating plasminogen by p-nitrophenyl-p-guanidinobenzoate and aprotinin. Analysis of the activation of plasminogen by the E. coli enzyme by NaDodSO4/polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis showed that the cleavage of plasminogen to plasmin was as specific as that exhibited in the activation of plasminogen to plasmin by urokinase. Possible in vivo roles for this plasminogen activator in E. coli outer membranes are discussed.
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PMID:Activation of plasminogen to plasmin by a protease associated with the outer membrane of Escherichia coli. 645 46

Four criteria were used to examine serum-free conditioned cell culture medium for protease nexin (PN):(1) formation of SDS-stable approximately 77 K Da complexes between a medium component and [125I]thrombin; (2) acceleration by heparin of the rate of formation of these complexes; (3) cellular binding of these complexes; and (4) inhibition by heparin of the cellular binding of complexes. Listed in order of decreasing PN production, PN was detected in media conditioned by the following cell types: human foreskin fibroblasts (0.18 micrograms/10(6) cells), rat embryo heart muscle cells (0.13 micrograms/10(6) cells), mouse myotubes (0.1 micrograms/10(6) cells), monkey kidney epithelial cells, human fibrosarcoma cells, human lung fibroblasts, simian virus 40 (SV-40)-transformed human fibroblasts, human epidermoid carcinoma cells, bovine aortic endothelial cells (only after phorbol ester treatment), and mouse myoblasts. No PN was found in medium conditioned by mouse 3T3 cells, SV40 virus-transformed 3T3 cells, human lymphoblasts, or mouse leukemia cells. Eleven of the cell types examined for secretion of PN were also examined for the presence of cytoplasmic thrombin-binding factors. Lysates from all of these cell types contained a factor that formed approximately 60-65 K Da sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS)-stable complexes with [125I] thrombin. This MW is significantly lower than that of [125I] thrombin-PN complexes, indicating that the factor is distinct from PN. Nevertheless, PN and the cytoplasmic factor share similarities. Production of both PN (by HF cells and WI-26 cells) and the cytoplasmic factor (by HF cells and 3T3 cells) are stimulated by epidermal growth factor and phorbol myristate acetate. Also, both PN and the cytoplasmic factor complex trypsin, plasmin, urokinase, and thrombin, but not pancreatic elastase. Because a number of the cells that produce PN or the cytoplasmic serine protease-binding factor are known to produce plasminogen activators, both PN and the cytoplasmic factor could regulate plasminogen activator activity.
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PMID:Evidence that a variety of cultured cells secrete protease nexin and produce a distinct cytoplasmic serine protease-binding factor. 657 53

Conditioned medium from cultures of human umbilical vein endothelial cells was analyzed for the presence of tissue plasminogen activator (tPA) and urokinase. Immunoprecipitation studies using metabolically labeled conditioned medium and anti-tPA IgG revealed a single band on autoradiographs corresponding to a Mr of 100,000. No bands were observed after immunoprecipitation with anti-urokinase IgG. The Mr 100,000 tPA was found to be inactive and did not bind to fibrin clots. However, exposure of this tPA to 1% NaDodSO4 resulted in the appearance of plasminogen activator activity with no apparent change in its Mr. Treatment with 10 mM diisopropylfluorophosphate prior to NaDodSO4 activation did not inhibit the NaDodSO4-induced appearance of plasminogen activator activity, indicating that the active site was not available for diisopropylfluorophosphate binding. The possibility that the properties of this Mr 100,000 tPA reflected a tPA-inhibitor complex was examined. Attempts to dissociate such a complex by denaturation, reduction, or extremes of temperature were not successful. However, after treatment of conditioned medium with 1 M hydroxylamine in the presence of 0.1% NaDodSO4, the Mr of the anti-tPA immunoprecipitable material declined by 40,000 to Mr 60,000, a Mr consistent with that of other human tPAs. Hydroxylamine has been shown previously to dissociate covalently coupled serine protease-inhibitor complexes. Furthermore, incubation of purified human melanoma cell tPA with conditioned medium resulted in an increase in its Mr by 40,000 with a concomitant decline in tPA activity. The data suggest that the latent tPA present in the conditioned medium of endothelial cells is composed of a Mr 60,000 tPA associated with an inhibitor.
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PMID:Latent tissue plasminogen activator produced by human endothelial cells in culture: evidence for an enzyme-inhibitor complex. 658 Jun 16

Zymographic analysis of the supernates from confluent cultures of a rat prostate adenocarcinoma cell line, PA-III, revealed the existence of two molecular forms of specific plasminogen activators, one of molecular weight of approximately 80 000 and another of approximate molecular weight of 45 000, in sodium dodecyl sulfate. The low molecular weight form has been purified 364-fold in 66% yield from the culture medium by a combination of gel filtration on Sephacryl S-200 and affinity chromatography on Sepharose 4B-benzamidine. The purified material possessed a specific activity of 192 000 urokinase CTA units mg-1. This enzyme displayed activity toward human Glu1-plasminogen, characterized by a Km of 1.7 +/- 0.2 microM and a Vmax of 0.53 +/- 0.1 pmol of plasmin min-1 unit-1. A synthetic chromogenic substrate, H-D-Ile-Pro-Arg-p-nitroanilide (S-2288), was found for the activator. The enzyme possessed a Km of 0.33 mM and a kcat of 55 s-1 for S-2288. The activator was found to be a serine protease, inhibited by diisopropyl fluorophosphate (iPr2PF). At a concentration of 1 mM iPr2PF, and 30 nM enzyme, the half-time of this inhibition was 3.8 min. The 45 000 molecular weight enzyme was found to be inhibited by rabbit antibodies to human urokinase, thus characterizing the activator as a member of the urokinase class. The 80 000 molecular weight enzyme was not neutralized by anti-human urokinase but was neutralized by rabbit anti-human melanoma activator, likely allowing it to be classified as the tissue activator type.
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PMID:Purification and properties of a plasminogen activator from cultured rat prostate adenocarcinoma cells. 668 52

Low-molecular-weight urokinase (molecular weight 33100) was separated by analytical and preparative isoelectric focusing into five major subforms with isoelectric points between 8.7 and 9.6. These subforms are very similar in molecular weight, specific activity, amino acid composition and content of amino sugar and their N-terminal sequence constellation is identical. Low-molecular-weight urokinase consists of two polypeptide chains connected by a single disulfide bridge. The N-terminal region of the heavy chain (calculated Mr 30700) exhibits homology within the first 46 residues analyzed, with the known primary structure of other serine proteases. The mini chain (Mr 2426), whose complete sequence was determined, consists of 21 residues which show homology with the primary structure of the C-terminal region of the plasmin heavy chain. Based on sequence data and homology criteria with serine proteases a single-chain urokinase precursor is postulated having a peptide bond constellation between heavy and light chain region compatible with the requirements for serine protease activation.
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PMID:Human low-molecular-weight urinary urokinase. Partial characterization and preliminary sequence data of the two polypeptide chains. 674 91

The sequence of all 253 amino acids of the heavy (B-) chain of human urinary urokinase was determined. The fragmentation strategy employed included cyanogen bromide cleavage of S-carboxymethylated B-chain at Met and/or Trp residues, cleavage of acid-labile Asp-Pro bonds, and the use of the specific endoproteinases Lys-C and Arg-C for generation of overlapping fragments. For sequence determination automated solid- or liquid-phase techniques of Edman degradation were used. The amino acid sequence obtained substantiates the serine protease character of the B-chain of urokinase: a considerable homology with other serine proteinases, especially with the B-chain of human plasmin, was proved. The pertinent active site amino acids were localized: His-46, Asp-97, and Ser-198. A carbohydrate side chain, containing at least 4 glucosamine and 2 galactosamine residues, was demonstrated to be fixed at asparagine in position 144. The sequence data presented, together with the sequence of the second (A1-) chain of low molecular mass urokinase which was reported by us in an earlier communication, complete the knowledge of the whole primary structure of an active form of human urinary urokinase.
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PMID:The complete amino acid sequence of low molecular mass urokinase from human urine. 675 72

Incorporation of the serine protease active site reagent diisopropyl fluorophosphate (DFP) into a plasminogen activator with an Mr of approximately 52000 released from cultured human glioblastoma cells was strongly enhanced by incubation with plasmin. This observation led to the isolation of an inactive form of the enzyme from serum-free conditioned culture fluid by affinity chromatography on a column of a Sepharose-bound monoclonal antibody raised against urokinase. An 831-fold purification was obtained with a yield of 41%. The purified molecule was homogeneous as evaluated by polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis with sodium dodecyl sulfate (NaDodSO4), having one stainable band under nonreducing as well as reducing conditions with an Mr of approximately 52000. It was unable to activate plasminogen, but catalytic amounts of plasmin converted it into active enzyme. After NaDodSO4-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis, the active enzyme showed one band under nonreducing conditions, but after reduction, two bands with Mr values of approximately 20000 and 32000 were observed. The active enzyme incorporated [3H]DFP into the approximately Mr 32000 band, while no incorporation was observed into the inactive form. These findings show that the Mr 52000 human plasminogen activator exists in a proenzyme form consisting of a single polypeptide chain that by proteolysis between half-cystine residues is converted into the active enzyme consisting of two chains with molecular weights of approximately 20000 and 32000, the active site being on the latter chain. The results are consistent with the active form of the enzyme being identical with the higher molecular weight form of urokinase, and together with recent observations that a murine plasminogen activator is released from sarcoma virus transformed cells as an inactive proenzyme, they suggest that zymogens to plasminogen activators are of more general occurrence.
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PMID:Purification of zymogen to plasminogen activator from human glioblastoma cells by affinity chromatography with monoclonal antibody. 689 Dec 64


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