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Query: UNIPROT:P00750 (PLA)
 16,800 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

The plasminogen activator urokinase (u-PA) mediates proteolysis by a variety of human tumor cells. Competitive displacement of u-PA from cellular binding sites results in decreased proteolysis in vitro, suggesting that the cell surface is the preferred site for u-PA-mediated protein degradation. We studied the effect of u-PA receptor blockade on the metastatic capacity of human PC3 prostate carcinoma cells, using transfectants which expressed chloramphenicol acetyl-transferase (CAT). Eight weeks after subcutaneous inoculation of these cells into nude mice, CAT activity was detected in regional lymph nodes, femurs, lungs, and brain, thereby mimicking the organ tropism observed for naturally occurring metastases of prostate cancer. In a second transfection, CAT-expressing PC3 cells received cDNA encoding a mutant u-PA (Ser356-->Ala) which lacks enzymatic activity but which retains full receptor binding affinity. Three mutant u-PA expressors, each with < 5% of wild-type cell-associated u-PA activity, were compared in vivo with independently derived controls. Primary tumor growth was similar in each group of animals and all tumors expressed comparable CAT activity. In contrast, metastasis (as assessed by CAT activity) was markedly inhibited when cell surface u-PA activity was blocked. Levels of CAT activity were reduced by a factor of > 300 in regional lymph nodes, 40-100 in brain tissue, and 10-20 in lung tissue. Metastatic capacity was inhibited similarly when animals were given intermittent intraperitoneal injections of a u-PA/IgG fusion protein capable of displacing u-PA activity from the tumor cell surface. Our results indicate that cell surface u-PA activity is essential to the metastatic process. In addition, the assay system employed in these experiments may be generally useful in testing other therapeutic modalities to limit the spread of primary tumors.
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PMID:Prevention of metastasis by inhibition of the urokinase receptor. 838 64

Urokinase-type plasminogen activator (uPA) is synthesized as single-chain protein (scuPA) with little intrinsic activity. scuPA is activated when it is converted to two-chain urokinase (tcuPA) by plasmin or when it binds as a single-chain molecule to its cellular receptor (uPAR). Previous data indicate that complexes between scuPA and its receptor have somewhat higher affinity for plasminogen than does tcuPA. The current study indicates that plasminogen activator activity of scuPA bound to recombinant, soluble uPAR (suPAR) is also fivefold less sensitive to inhibition by plasminogen activator type 1 (PAI-1) than is soluble or receptor-bound tcuPA. Binding of PaI-1 to suPAR/scuPA complexes is totally reversible and can be overcome by increasing the concentration of plasminogen, suggesting a competitive mechanism of inhibition (Ki = 18 nmol/L). Binding of scuPA to suPAR also retards its cleavage by plasmin. These results indicates that binding of single-chain urokinase to its receptor promotes its activity, retards its inhibition, and protects it from conversion to a two-chain form of the enzyme, a step that may precede its inactivation and clearance from cell surfaces. These results are consistent with a physiologic role for receptor-bound single-chain urokinase as a cellular plasminogen activator.
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PMID:Single-chain urokinase-type plasminogen activator bound to its receptor is relatively resistant to plasminogen activator inhibitor type 1. 861 76

The interaction of single chain urokinase with its receptor accelerates plasminogen activator activity on cell surfaces and induces intracellular signalling in several cell types. To date, no physiologic inhibitor of this binding has been identified. We report that the binding of scuPA to its cellular receptor is inhibited by long chain fatty acids such as oleic acid (C18, delta 9) at physiological plasma concentrations. Inhibition of single chain urokinase binding to human trophoblastic cells by long chain fatty acids was dose-dependent and saturable. Fifty percent of the binding was inhibited at an oleic acid concentration of 27 microM, while inhibition was maximal (75%) at 150 microM oleic acid. The inhibitory potency of oleic acid was unaffected by fatty acid free albumin or human plasma. Inhibition of single chain urokinase binding by free fatty acid analogues was critically dependent on chain length (> C14 required for inhibition) and was proportional to the extent of unsaturation. Only the fraction of specific scuPA binding to trophoblasts that was dependent on uPAR was susceptible to inhibition by oleic acid, while binding of scuPA to vitronectin, thombospondin, and the alpha 2-macroglobulin receptor/low-density lipoprotein-related receptor was not. [3H]Oleic acid bound specifically to recombinant soluble uPAR in a 1:1 molar ratio in the presence or absence of plasma and totally blocked its specific binding to a cell line expressing glycosyl phosphatidylinositol-linked single chain urokinase. These results indicate that oleic acid and other unsaturated long chain free fatty acids may serve as physiologic regulators of proteolytic events and intracellular signalling that depend upon the interaction of urokinase with its receptor.
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PMID:Unesterified long chain fatty acids inhibit the binding of single chain urokinase to the urokinase receptor. 863 40

The availability of gene-targeted mice deficient in the urokinase-type plasminogen activator (uPA), urokinase receptor (uPAR), tissue-type plasminogen activator (tPA), and plasminogen permits a critical, genetic-based analysis of the physiological and pathological roles of the two mammalian plasminogen activators. We report a comparative study of animals with individual and combined deficits in uPAR and tPA and show that these proteins are complementary fibrinolytic factors in mice. Sinusoidal fibrin deposits are found within the livers of nearly all adult mice examined with a dual deficiency in uPAR and tPA, whereas fibrin deposits are never found in livers collected from animals lacking uPAR and rarely detected in animals lacking tPA alone. This is the first demonstration that uPAR has a physiological role in fibrinolysis. However, uPAR-/-/tPA-/- mice do not develop the pervasive, multi-organ fibrin deposits, severe tissue damage, reduced fertility, and high morbidity and mortality observed in mice with a combined deficiency in tPA and the uPAR ligand, uPA. Furthermore, uPAR-/-/tPA-/- mice do not exhibit the profound impairment in wound repair seen in uPA-/-/tPA-/- mice when they are challenged with a full-thickness skin incision. These results indicate that plasminogen activation focused at the cell surface by uPAR is important in fibrin surveillance in the liver, but that uPA supplies sufficient fibrinolytic potential to clear fibrin deposits from most tissues and support wound healing without the benefit of either uPAR or tPA.
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PMID:Urokinase-type plasminogen activator is effective in fibrin clearance in the absence of its receptor or tissue-type plasminogen activator. 865 Jan 90

Human endothelial cells express antithrombotic properties by producing prostacyclin, heparan sulfate and plasminogen activator (PA). Using an established cell line, TKM-33, from human umbilical vein endothelial cells, the pericellular urokinase-type PA (u-PA) activity and expression of u-PA receptor (u-PAR) were investigated. The endothelial cells produced and secreted large amounts of u-PA and low levels of tissue-type PA (t-PA) and of PA inhibitor-1 (PAI-1), which were identified by immunohistochemical study and electrophoretic enzymography. Diisopropylfluoro-phosphate-treated 125I-u-PA bound specifically to acid-treated monolayered endothelial cells with a Kd of 3.46 +/- 1.17 nM, and Bmax of (0.09 +/- 0.04) x 10(6) sites/cell. mRNA of u-PAR was detected by using Northern blot analysis. Thus, these endothelial cells express u-PAR which bounds u-PA specifically. Phorbol myristate acetate (PMA) stimulation to the endothelial cells altered the Kd value to 3.18 +/- 0.64 nM, and Bmax value to (0.19 +/- 0.10) x 10(6) sites/cell, respectively. PMA treatment of endothelial cells increased u-PAR mRNA. Similarly, H7-treated endothelial cells showed a dose-dependent increase of u-PAR mRNA. However, PMA and H7 did not stimulate the expression of u-PA and t-PA mRNAs significantly. The expression of PAI-1 mRNA was increased by both PMA and H7. These findings suggest that the established endothelial cell line, TKM-33, possesses the character of endothelial cells and expresses u-PAR on their cell surface which is occupied by intrinsic u-PA secreted from the cells. The pericellular u-PA activity and the expression of u-PAR were regulated by protein kinase pathway.
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PMID:Identification of urokinase-type plasminogen activator receptor in human endothelial cells and its modulation by phorbol myristate acetate. 882 63

Human peritoneal mesothelial cells (HMC) play a critical role in maintaining the intraperitoneal balance between fibrinolysis and coagulation by expressing the fibrinolytic enzyme tissue-type plasminogen activator (t-PA) as well as a specific plasminogen activator inhibitor, PAI-1, and the procoagulant protein tissue factor (TF). Of three compounds known to stimulate t-PA synthesis in cultured human endothelial cells, i.e., retinoic acid, the protein kinase C activator 4 beta-phorbol 12-myristate 13-acetate (PMA), and sodium butyrate, only butyrate (1 mM) caused about a threefold increase in t-PA synthesis and mRNA expression in HMC after 24 h of incubation, without markedly affecting PAI-1 synthesis. PMA (10 nM) induced a threefold increase in urokinase-type plasminogen activator (u-PA) mRNA, but u-PA antigen levels in the HMC conditioned media remained below the detection level (0.5 ng/ml), possibly as a result of rapid uptake and degradation by the u-PA receptor. The u-PA receptor mRNA levels were about fivefold enhanced above control levels after PMA treatment of the cells. An increase in intracellular adenosine 3',5'-cyclic monophosphate levels by forskolin (10 microM) diminished t-PA and PAI-1 levels 43 and 17%, respectively. Among the inflammatory mediators tested [tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha), interleukin-1 alpha, and bacterial lipopolysaccharide], TNF-alpha (10-1,000 U/ml) showed the strongest procoagulant effects. We found that the isoflavone compound genistein (25 micrograms/ml) prevented the TNF-alpha-induced expression of PAI-1 and TF while also slightly counteracting the decrease in t-PA synthesis. The protein kinase C inhibitor R0-318220 (3 microM) only moderately opposed the TNF-alpha-induced changes in t-PA and PAI-1 synthesis but completely prevented the induction of TF mRNA. In summary, our results demonstrate that t-PA synthesis in HMC is relatively insensitive to pharmacological stimulation. To restore the balance between fibrinolysis and coagulation under inflammatory conditions, attempts to interfere with the TNF-alpha-signaling pathway were more successful.
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PMID:Modulation of procoagulant and fibrinolytic system components of mesothelial cells by inflammatory mediators. 894 61

The mechanism by which single-chain urokinase (scuPA) binds to its receptor (uPAR) is incompletely understood. We report that a fragment comprising the first domain of recombinant soluble uPAR (sDI) as well as a fragment comprising the remaining domains (sDII-DIII) competes with the binding of recombinant full-length soluble uPAR (suPAR) to scuPA with an IC50 = 253 nM and an IC50 = 1569, respectively. sDII-III binds directly to scuPA with Kd = 238 nM. Binding of scuPA to each fragment also induces the expression of plasminogen activator activity. sDI and sDII-DIII (200 nM each) induced activity equal to 66 and 36% of the maximum activity induced by full-length suPAR (5 nM), respectively. Each fragment also stimulates the binding of scuPA to cells lacking endogenous uPAR. Although scuPA binds to sDI and to sDII-DIII through its amino-terminal fragment, the fragments act synergistically to inhibit the binding of suPAR and to stimulate plasminogen activator activity. Furthermore, sDII-DIII retards the velocity and alters the pattern of cleavage of sDI by chymotrypsin. These results suggest that binding of scuPA to more than one epitope in suPAR is required for its optimal activation and association with cell membranes.
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PMID:Soluble human urokinase receptor is composed of two active units. 903 Jun 10

Involvement of extravascular sites, in particular infiltration of the central nervous system, is a frequent complication of T-lymphoblastic leukemia and contributes to leukemia-associated morbidity. In this report, we studied the contribution of plasminogen activators to the invasive properties of 7 human T-cell lines in a model of transmigration through an extracellular matrix. The T-cell lines were found to express either urokinase (u-PA) and high levels of u-PA receptor or tissue-type plasminogen activator (t-PA) and low levels of u-PA receptor. The rate of transmigration was consistently higher for u-PA-expressing cells than for t-PA-expressing cells. PA-inhibitor type 1 (PAI-1) was detected in the conditioned medium of one cell line and PAI-2 was detected in cell extracts from 6 lines. The transmigration of 6 out of 7 cell lines was inhibited by trasylol, an inhibitor of plasmin, by an excess of exogenous PAI-1 or PAI-2, and by antibodies to the particular PA type expressed by the cells. Partial inhibition of transmigration by the amino-terminal fragment of u-PA implies that the u-PA receptor contributes to transmigration. Thus, the transmigration of T-leukemia cells through a barrier of extracellular matrix requires PA-dependent proteolysis, which can be provided either by u-PA or t-PA. Specific inhibition of the PA system could provide a means to inhibit tissue invasion by T lymphoblastic cells.
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PMID:Plasminogen activators play an essential role in extracellular-matrix invasion by lymphoblastic T cells. 903 55

Tumor cell migration and invasion require complex interactions between tumor cells and the surrounding extracellular matrix. These interactions are modified by cell adhesion receptors, as well as by proteolytic enzymes and their receptors. Here, we study the influence of the protease urokinasetype plasminogen activator (uPA) and its receptor (uPAR) on melanoma cell adhesion to, and migration on, the extracellular matrix protein vitronectin (VN). Cell adhesion to VN, but not to type I collagen, is significantly enhanced in the presence of either uPA or its amino-terminal fragment (ATF). Soluble uPAR can inhibit this effect, indicating that uPA/uPAR on melanoma cells can function as a VN receptor. In the absence of bivalent cations, uPA/uPAR can promote cell attachment on VN, but not cell spreading, suggesting that the glycosylphosphatidylinositol (GPI)-anchored uPAR alone is unable to organize the cytoskeleton. Chemotactic melanoma cell migration on a uniform VN matrix is inhibited by uPA and ATF, implying that cell motility decreases when uPA/uPAR acts as a VN receptor. In contrast, plasminogen activator inhibitor I (PAI-I) can stimulate melanoma cell migration on VN, presumably by inhibiting uPA/uPAR-mediated cell adhesion to VN and thereby releasing the inhibition of cell migration induced by uPA. Together, our data implicate components of the plasminogen activation system in the direct regulation of cell adhesion and migration, thereby modulating the behavior of malignant tumor cells.
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PMID:Melanoma cell migration on vitronectin: regulation by components of the plasminogen activation system. 909 74

The plasma levels of soluble urokinase-type plasminogen activator receptor (uPAR; CD87) measured by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay were higher in patients with paroxysmal nocturnal hemoglobinuria (PNH) (5.8 +/- 4.7 ng/ml, mean +/- S.D., n = 9) than in normal donors (2.0 +/- 0.8 ng/ml, mean +/- S.D., n = 15). The high level of soluble uPAR in PNH plasma competed with the membrane uPAR expressed by normal blood neutrophils for binding to urokinase-type plasminogen activator (uPA). We also found that uPA complexed with soluble uPAR was partly resistant to inactivation by plasminogen activator inhibitors in the plasma, although uPA was inactivated similarly by plasma containing high and low levels of uPAR. PNH-affected blood cells are deficient in urokinase-type PAR, a glycosyl-phosphatidylinositol (GPI)-anchored protein. The deficiency of uPAR on PNH-affected leukocytes and the increased soluble uPAR in the PNH plasma may synergistically contribute to the development of thrombosis in PNH by inhibiting the cell-associated fibrinolytic activity.
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PMID:Excess soluble urokinase-type plasminogen activator receptor in the plasma of patients with paroxysmal nocturnal hemoglobinuria inhibits cell-associated fibrinolytic activity. 911


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