Modification of the catalytic subunit of plasma fibrin-stabilizing factor under induced oxidation.

For the first time, by using mass-spectrometry method, the oxidation-mediated modification of the catalytic FXIII-A subunit of plasma fibrin-stabilizing factor, pFXIII, has been studied. The oxidative sites were identified to belong to all structural elements of the catalytic subunit: the ß-sandwich (Tyr104, Tyr117, and Cys153), the catalytic core domain (Met160, Trp165, Met266, Cys328, Asp352, Pro387, Arg409, Cys410, Tyr442, Met475, Met476, Tyr482, and Met500), the ß-barrel 1 (Met596), and the ß-barrel 2 (Met647, Pro676, Trp692, Cys696, and Met710), which correspond to 3.9%, 1.11%, 0.7%, and 3.2%, respectively, of oxidative modifications as compared to the detectable amounts of amino acid residues in each of the structural domains. Lack of information on some parts of the molecule may be associated with the spatial unavailability of residues, complicating analysis of the molecule. The absence of oxidative sites localized within crucial areas of the structural domains may be brought about by both the spatial inaccessibility of the oxidant to amino acid residues in the zymogen and the screening effect of the regulatory FXIII-B subunit.

The oxidative modification of cellular fibrin-stabilizing factor.

For the first time, the induced oxidative modification of cellular fibrin-stabilizing factor (cFXIII) has been studied. According to the electrophoresis analysis, the conversion of oxidized cFXIII into FXIIIa resulted in producing the enzyme that significantly lost the initial enzymatic activity. At the same time, FXIIIa subjected to induced oxidation was completely devoid of enzymatic activity. The results of FTIR spectroscopy showed that the oxidation of cFXIII or FXIIIa was accompanied by profound changes both in chemical and spatial structures of the protein. The results of this study are in good agreement with our earlier assumption regarding the antioxidant role of the regulatory subunits B of plasma fibrin-stabilizing factor.

The strengthening role of D:D interactions in fibrin self-assembly under oxidation.

The effect on ozone-induced oxidation on the self-assembly of fibrin in the presence of fibrin-stabilizing factor FXIIIa of soluble cross-linked fibrin oligomers was studied in a medium containing moderate urea concentrations. It is established that fibrin oligomers were formed by the protofibrils cross-linked through γ-γ dimers and the fibrils additionally cross-linked by through α-polymers. The oxidation promoted both the accumulation of greater amounts of γ-γ dimers and the formation of protofibrils, fibrils, and their dissociation products emerging with increasing urea concentrations, which have a high molecular weight. It is concluded that the oxidation enhances the axial interactions between D-regions of fibrin molecules.

Longitudinal orientation of cross-linked polypeptide γ chains in fibrin fibrils.

The crosslinking of fibrin γ-polypeptide chains under the influence of the plasma fibrin-stabilizing factor (FXIIIa), which causes their conversion to γ-γ dimers, is the major enzyme reaction of covalent fibrin stabilization. We studied the self-assembly of soluble cross-linked fibrin oligomers. The results of analytical ultracentrifugation as well as elastic and dynamic light scattering showed that the double-stranded fibrin oligomers formed under the influence of moderate concentrations of urea are cross-linked only due to formation of γ-γ dimers, which can dissociate into single-stranded structure when the concentration of urea increases. This fact proves that γ-γ dimers are formed in the end-to-end manner.

Ozone-induced oxidative modification of fibrinogen molecules.

Ozone-induced oxidation of fibrinogen has been investigated. The conversion of oxidized fibrinogen to fibrin catalyzed either by thrombin or by a reptilase-like enzyme, ancistron, in both cases is accompanied by production of gels characterized by a higher weight/length ratio of fibrils in comparison with the native fibrin gels. IR spectra of the D and E fragments isolated from unoxidized and oxidized fibrinogen suggest a noticeable transformation of functional groups by oxidation. A decrease in content of N-H groups in the peptide backbone and in the number of C-H bonds in aromatic structures, as well as a decrease in the intensity of the C-H valence vibrations in aliphatic fragments CH2 and CH3 were found. The appearance in the differential spectra of the D fragments of rather intense peaks in the interval of 1200-800 cm(-1) clearly indicates the interaction of ozone with amino acid residues of methionine, tryptophan, histidine, and phenylalanine. Comparison of the differential spectra for the D and E fragments suggests that fibrinogen fragment D is more sensitive to the oxidant action than fragment E. Using EPR spectroscopy, differences are found in the spectra of spin labels bound with degradation products of oxidized and unoxidized fibrinogen, the D and E fragments, caused by structural and dynamical modifications of the protein molecules in the areas of localization of the spin labels. The relationship between the molecular mechanism of oxidation of fibrinogen and its three-dimensional structure is discussed.

Self-assembly of soluble unlinked and cross-linked fibrin oligomers.

Self-assembly of soluble unlinked and cross-linked fibrin oligomers formed from desA-fibrin monomer under the influence of factor XIIIa was studied in the presence of non-denaturing urea concentrations. By methods of elastic and dynamic light scattering combined with analytical ultracentrifugation, desA-fibrin oligomers formed in both the presence and absence of the factor XIIIa were shown to be ensembles consisting of soluble rod-like double-stranded protofibrils with diverse weight and size. Unlinked and cross-linked soluble double-stranded protofibrils can reach the length of 350-450 nm. The structure of soluble covalently-linked protofibrils is stabilized by isopeptide γ-dimers. Electrophoretic data indicate a complete absence of isopeptide bonds between α-chains of desA-fibrin molecules. The molecular mechanism of formation of soluble rod-like fibrin structures and specific features of its covalent stabilization under the influence of factor XIIIa are discussed.

Oxidized modification of fragments D and E from fibrinogen induced by ozone.

Ozone-induced free-radical oxidation of fragments D and E from fibrinogen has been studied. The methods of elastic and dynamic light scattering in combination with electrophoresis of unreduced samples have shown the acceleration of enzymatic covalent crosslinking of molecules of oxidation-modified fragment D under the action of factor XIIIa. UV and IR spectroscopy shows that free-radical oxidation of amino acid residues of polypeptide chains catalyzed by ozone affects the cyclic and amino groups, giving rise to generation of mainly oxygen-containing products. Comparison of the IR spectra obtained for the oxidation-modified D and E fragments revealed more significant transformation of functional groups for the D fragment. EPR spectroscopy showed that the rotational correlation time of spin labels bound to the ozonized proteins decreased in comparison with the non-ozonized proteins. The rotation correlation time of the radicals covalently bound to the ozonized D and E fragments suggests that D fragment of fibrinogen is more sensitive to free-radical oxidation followed by local structural changes. Possible causes of different degrees of oxidation for fragments D and E are discussed.

[Interaction of fibrinogen with magnetite nanoparticles].

The interaction between fibrinogen and magnetite nanoparticles in solution has been studied by the methods of spin labeling, ferromagnetic resonance, dynamic and Rayleigh light scattering. It was shown that protein molecules adsorb on the surface of nanoparticles to form multilayer protein covers. The number of molecules adsorbed on one nanoparticle amounts to approximately 65 and the thickness of the adsorption layer amounts to approximately 27 nm. Separate nanoparticles with fibrinogen covers (clusters) form aggregates due to interactions of the end D-domains of fibrinogen. Under the influence of direct magnetic field, nanoparticles with adsorbed proteins form linear aggregates parallel to force lines. It was shown that the rate of protein coagulation during the formation of fibrin gel under the action of thrombin on fibrinogen decreases approximately 2 times in the presence of magnetite nanoparticles, and the magnitude of the average fiber mass-length ratio grows.

Self-assembly of fibrin monomers and fibrinogen aggregation during ozone oxidation.

The mechanism of self-assembly of fibrin monomers and fibrinogen aggregation during ozone oxidation has been studied by the methods of elastic and dynamic light-scattering and viscosimetry. Fibrin obtained from oxidized fibrinogen exhibits higher average fiber mass/length ratio compared with native fibrin. Fibrinogen ozonation sharply reduced the latent period preceding aggregation of protein molecules; however, the mechanism of self-assembly of ozonated and non-ozonated fibrinogen cluster was identical. In both cases flexible polymers are formed and reaching a certain critical length they form densely packed structures and aggregate. Using infrared spectroscopy, it has been shown that free radical oxidation of amino acid residues of fibrinogen polypeptide chains catalyzed by ozone results in formation of carbonyl, hydroxyl, and ether groups. It is concluded that fibrinogen peripheral D-domains are the most sensitive to ozonation, which causes local conformational changes in them. On one hand, these changes inhibit the reaction of longitudinal polymerization of monomeric fibrin molecules; on the other hand, they expose reaction centers responsible for self-assembly of fibrinogen clusters.

[Mechanism of enzymatic crosslinking of fibrinogen molecules].

The mechanism of enzymatic covalent crosslinking of fibrinogen molecules under the effect of plasma transglutaminase (factor XIIIa) has been studied. Using the methods of elastic and dynamic light scattering combined with viscosimetry and electrophoresis of the reduced samples, it has been shown that fibrinogen oxidation strongly accelerates self-assembly of the covalently cross-linked fibrinogen polymers. IR-spectroscopy data indicate that the degree of fibrinogen oxidation positively correlates with the amount of epsilon/gamma(-glu)lys isopeptide covalent bonds whose formation is catalyzed by the factor XIIIa. The results of this and our previous studies cast doubt on the widespread concept that native fibrinogen is the substrate for factor XIIIa. In our opinion, only structurally defective fibrinogen molecules that have undergone oxidative structural conversion in the D-domain region are involved in the enzymatic reaction leading to the formation of covalent epsilon/gamma(-glu)lys isopeptide bonds and self-assembly of fibrinogen polymers.

[The effect of "aging" of fibrinogen molecule on the structure and properties of fibrin gel].

The effect of molecular "aging" of fibrinogen stimulated by preincubation in solution on the fibrin three-dimensional architecture, its ability to crosslink fibrin-stabilizing factor, and the sensitivity of fibrin gel to plasmin hydrolysis have been studied. The method of elastic light scattering was used to demonstrate that fibrin generated from "defective" fibrinogen had a coarser structure with a higher mean mass-length ratio of polymeric fibers compared to native fibrinogen (2.24 x 10(9) and 1.46 x 10(9) g/(mol x cm), respectively). Crosslinking had no effect on the architecture of both control and experimental fibrin samples. Spectrophotometric and electrophoretic analysis has shown a higher sensitivity of coarse fibrin gels to plasmin. A close correlation between spontaneous local conformational reconstructions in fibrinogen molecule and its functional activity is concluded.

Mechanism of inhibition of fibrinolysis and fibrinogenolysis by the end fibrinogen degradation products.

Influence of the end fibrinogen-derived DH, DL and E fragments on fibrinolysis and fibrinogenolysis has been studied. Electrophoresis of the plasmin-digested unstabilized fibrin and fibrinogen showed that fragment E was the only inhibitor of plasmin hydrolysis of fibrinogen, the antifibrinolytic activity of the fragments being increased in a DL < E < DH series. The fragments were revealed by means of elastic light scattering and analytical ultracentrifugation to be arranged in a E > DL > DH series by their ability to form a complex with plasminogen. It was concluded that the complex formation did not greatly contribute to the mechanism of fibrinolysis inhibition. Antifibrinolytic effect of fragment DH is due to its antipolymerization activity. The paper discusses the competitive protein-protein interactions occurring on a polymeric matrix of fibrin.

[Mechanism of cross-linking of fibrinogen and its early structural homolog fragment X]. / Mekhanizm perekrestnogo sshivaniia fibrinogena i ego rannego strukturnogo gomologa X-fragmenta.

We studied the mechanism of the cross-linking of fibrinogen as well as its closest structural homolog X fragment under the influence of a fibronectin-stabilizing factor (factor XIIIa). The data on elastic and dynamic light scattering indicate the formation of single-stranded polymers without any structural rigidity that acquire a ramified and compact structure upon reaching critical mass. The values of coefficients of translational diffusion, mean-mass molecular weight, averaged scattering factor, and the accumulation of gamma-dimers indicate that preincubation of fibrinogen and fragment X solutions significantly accelerates the enzymatic formation of a covalently bound macromolecular protein complex. We propose that enzymatic cross-linking proceeds only with the gradual accumulation of structurally imperfect molecules of fibrinogen and fragment X that are prone to intermolecular D-D end-to-end contacts.

[The structural transformations of X-oligomers]. / Strukturnye prevrashcheniia X-oligomerov.

Mechanism of self-assembly and the three-dimensional organization of the intermediate soluble forms of X-oligomers in the presence of non-denaturing urea concentration have been studied by dynamic light scattering, analytical ultracentrifugation, and viscometric methods. Swedberg and Kuhn-Mark-Hauwink analysis of the obtained hydrodynamic data accounting the concentration effect on translational friction demonstrated formation of equilibrium single-stranded rod-like protofibrils with end-to-end arrangement of the peripheral domains of X monomers. Upon elongation the single-stranded protofibrils form double-stranded structures through lateral aggregation. We infer that alpha C domains are involved in neither stabilization of the single-stranded structures nor their dimerization.

[Influence of end products of plasmin-mediated hydrolysis of fibrinogen and fibrin (EF and Ef fragments) on fibrinogen cross-linking]. / Vliianie konechnykh produktov plazminovogo gidroliza fibrinogena i fibrina--fragmentov EF i Ef na protsess perekrestnogo sshivaniia fibrinogena.

We studied the influence of the end products of plasmin-mediated hydrolysis of fibrinogen and nonstabilized fibrin (EF and Ef fragments) on covalent cross-linking of fibrinogen molecules catalyzed by a fibrin-stabilizing factor (factor XIIIa). The data on elastic and dynamic light scattering reveal no difference in the spatial structure of covalently linked fibrinogen molecules in the presence of the hydrolysis end products EF and Ef. In contrast to the inactive fragment EF, fragment Ef significantly accelerates the enzymatic reaction. This is also confirmed by electrophoresis of the reduced samples indicating a relatively fast accumulation of gamma-dimers and A alpha-polymers as compared to the control samples. Possible molecular mechanisms of this effect are discussed.