RESEARCH ARTICLE Molecular cloning and expression analysis of a matrix Gla protein gene in the spinyhead croaker, Collichthys lucidus.

The matrix Gla (gamma-carboxyglutamic acid-rich) protein (MGP), a vitamin K-dependent and Gla-containing protein, is a calcification inhibitor that mainly functions in tissue calcification and mineralization. In this study, we obtained the complete cDNA sequence of MGP from the spinyhead croaker (Collichthys lucidus), which we named Cl-MGP. Cl-MGP was 923 bp long with a 384-bp open reading fragment that encoded 127 amino acids. The predicted MGP protein sequence contained a 19-residue hydrophobic signal peptide, suggesting that it possesses secretory characteristics. The Gla domain and the invariant unit ErraEtCedyspC, which has been identified in all known vitamin K-dependent vertebrate proteins, were highly conserved in Cl-MGP, suggesting that it uses the same mechanism to function as the known proteins. An alignment analysis revealed that Cl-MGP had the highest identity with Larimichthys crocea (93%), which had lost five amino acid residues in the C-terminal. A quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction revealed that Cl-MGP expression was highest in the gill, followed by the cholecyst and spleen, with almost no expression in the blood, muscle, or testes. The high Cl-MGP expression in the gill is similar to that observed in other fish species, but the relatively high expression found in the cholecyst and spleen is not seen in all species. Future studies should investigate the tissue distributions of both mRNA and proteins in different species, in order to understand the function and evolution of MGP in different species.

Maintenance of coronary patency after fibrinolysis with tissue factor pathway inhibitor.

BACKGROUND: Pharmacological coronary fibrinolysis induces procoagulant effects that contribute to delayed recanalization and early reocclusion. This study was designed to determine whether brief inhibition of activation of the coagulation cascade with tissue factor pathway inhibitor, a physiological inhibitor of activated factor X and its activation by the tissue factor/factor VII complex, would facilitate fibrinolysis, sustain patency of recanalized arteries, or both. METHODS AND RESULTS: Platelet-rich coronary thrombi were induced with anodal current that elicited intimal injury in 21 conscious dogs. Each was randomized to human recombinant tissue-type plasminogen activator (rTPA 1.0 mg/kg IV over 1 hour) with infusion of 50 micrograms.kg-1.min-1 of human recombinant tissue factor pathway inhibitor (rTFPI, n = 7), 100 micrograms.kg-1.min-1 of rTFPI (n = 8), or 300 mmol/L arginine phosphate buffer as a control (n = 6) concomitant with and for 1 hour after infusion of the plasminogen activator. Recanalization, verified with proximal Doppler flow probes, occurred in all but 1 dog given the high dose of rTFPI. It was not accelerated by conjunctive rTFPI. Reocclusion occurred within 90 minutes after infusion of rTPA in all 6 control dogs. However, reocclusion was delayed and patency was sustained for the entire 24-hour observation interval in 2 of 6 dogs (excluding 1 that did not survive) given the low dose and in 4 of 6 dogs (excluding 1 that did not receive the desired amount) given the high dose of rTFPI (P < .05 compared with controls). Cyclic flow variations indicative of platelet aggregation and disaggregation locally were virtually eliminated by rTFPI (3 +/- 4[SD]/h in dogs given the low dose and 2 +/- 2/h in those given the high dose of rTFPI compared with 13 +/- 12/h in controls, P < .05). In addition, rTFPI increased activated partial thromboplastin time and prothrombin time only at the high dose (1.4 +/- 0.3 and 2.1 +/- 0.9 times baseline) and had no effects on platelet aggregation assayed ex vivo and only minimal effects on bleeding time assayed in vivo. CONCLUSIONS: Brief inhibition of the coagulation system by administration of rTFPI sustains patency of arteries recanalized by pharmacological fibrinolysis without markedly perturbing hemostatic mechanisms.

Potentiation of endogenous nitric oxide with superoxide dismutase inhibits platelet-mediated thrombosis in injured and stenotic arteries.

OBJECTIVES: We tested the hypothesis that dismutation of superoxide anion increases endogenous levels of nitric oxide, resulting in inhibition of cyclic variations in blood flow in arteries that are injured and stenotic. BACKGROUND: Platelet adhesion and aggregation leading to cyclic flow variations might result, in part, from generation of superoxide anion that can deplete endogenously produced nitric oxide. METHODS: Spontaneous cyclic flow variations, monitored with a proximal Doppler probe, were induced in the carotid artery of anesthetized rabbits by clamping the vessel with forceps and placing a high grade stenosis at the site of injury. Bovine copper/zinc superoxide dismutase (12 mg/kg body weight, n = 5), a synthetic low molecular weight mimetic (12 mg/kg, n = 8) or buffer vehicle (n = 8) was administered intravenously as divided boluses over 45 min, and the frequency of cyclic flow variations was monitored for 4 h. RESULTS: Cyclic flow variations remained stable for 4 h in vehicle-treated animals (15 +/- 1 [mean +/- SEM]/30 min at baseline and 16 +/- 1/30 min after 4 h, n = 8) but exhibited a marked and persistent reduction in animals given copper/zinc superoxide dismutase (from 14 +/- 1/30 min at baseline to 4 +/- 1/30 min after 4 h) or the mimetic (from 15 +/- 1/30 min at baseline to 3 +/- 1/30 min after 4 h, p < 0.005). They were restored in three of four mimetic-treated animals during infusion of NG-monomethyl- L-arginine (100 mg/kg), an inhibitor of nitric oxide production. In addition, levels of cyclic guanosine 5'-monophosphate in platelets were elevated after administration of the mimetic (from 2.4 +/- 0.5 fmol/10(6) platelets at baseline to 4.9 +/- 0.6 fmol/10(6) platelets 45 min after the mimetic, p < 0.03, n = 6), whereas mean arterial blood pressure was decreased and flow velocity in the carotid artery was increased consistent with mediation of the effect on cyclic flow variations by increased endogenous nitric oxide. CONCLUSIONS: Dismutation of superoxide anion appears to attenuate platelet thrombus formation at a site of vessel injury by potentiation of endogenously produced nitric oxide. This approach may have utility to inhibit platelet-rich thrombosis in injured and stenotic arteries where production of superoxide anion is increased.