Plasminogen activator inhibitor 1 and 2 are tumor necrosis factor/cachectin-responsive genes.

Human rTNF/Cachectin was shown to stimulate gene transcription of plasminogen activator inhibitor (PA1)-1 and PAI-2, and simultaneously suppress constitutive gene expression of tissue-type plasminogen activator (t-PA) in human fibrosarcoma cells. We propose that a TNF-mediated reprogramming of gene transcription induces, in appropriate target cells, an anti-fibrinolytic state, which may cooperate with the induction of procoagulant activity (tissue factor) to stabilize the fibrin deposits commonly found in inflamed tissue. PAI genes also provide a model system for a study of the molecular pathways underlying TNF-mediated signal transduction.

Phorbol ester induces the biosynthesis of glycosylated and nonglycosylated plasminogen activator inhibitor 2 in high excess over urokinase-type plasminogen activator in human U-937 lymphoma cells.

The tumor-promoting phorbol ester PMA induces changes in the histiocytic human lymphoma cell line U-937 akin to cellular differentiation (Ralph, P., N. Williams, M. A. S. Moore, and P. B. Litcofsky, 1982, Cell. Immunol., 71:215-223) and concomitantly stimulates the biosynthesis of plasminogen activator inhibitor 2 (PAI 2) and of urokinase-type plasminogen activator (u-PA). PAI 2 is found in a nonglycosylated intracellular and a glycosylated secreted form. The former appears to be identical to PAI 2 previously purified from placental extracts and large-scale U-937 cell cultures. The sixfold increase of PAI 2 antigen measured 24 h after PMA treatment in cell extracts and conditioned media is accompanied by an equal increase of active PAI 2 mRNA, whereas the 6 to 13-fold increase of u-PA antigen in the same samples is associated with only a 1.5-fold mRNA increase. The increase of PAI 2, but not of u-PA, biosynthesis requires transcription. A 50-fold molar excess of PAI 2 over u-PA is found in both extracts and conditioned media of PMA-treated cells. PAI 2 represents at least 0.3% of total de novo synthesized protein 24 h after induction with PMA. Thus, PAI 2, but not u-PA, is an abundant product of this precursor analogue of the mononuclear phagocyte lineage, and might represent a new marker for monocyte/macrophage differentiation.

Tissue-type plasminogen activator increases the binding of glu-plasminogen to clots.

Porcine tissue-type plasminogen activator (t-PA) increases the binding of 125I-glu-plasminogen to clots made from human plasma or purified fibrinogen in a time and t-PA concentration dependent fashion. The accumulation of plasminogen was faster and greater on noncrosslinked plasma clots than on clots which had been crosslinked by Factor XIIIa. Furthermore, the uptake of plasminogen to crosslinked fibrin clots occurred at a slower rate in the presence of alpha 2-plasmin inhibitor (alpha 2 PI) than in its absence. The kinetics of the uptake of 125I-plasminogen were analyzed using SDS-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis and radioautography of solubilized plasma clots formed in the presence of t-PA. During the initial phase there was a decrease of clot-bound glu-plasminogen; simultaneously, there was a slight increase in clot-bound glu-plasmin and in plasmin complexed to alpha 2 PI that was crosslinked to alpha-chain polymers of fibrin. This was followed by a marked increase in clot-bound plasminogen having glutamic acid as NH2-terminal (glu-plasminogen) and gluplasmin. t-PA-induced enhancement of glu-plasminogen uptake appears to be mediated by plasmin but does not require the conversion of glu-plasminogen to plasminogen having lysine or methionine as NH2-terminal. The described mechanism assures an adequate supply of clot-bound plasmin, which is the enzyme ultimately involved in the degradation of fibrin.

Isolation from human plasma of a plasminogen activator identical to urinary high molecular weight urokinase.

Two different plasmatic plasminogen activators (PA) can be demonstrated after sodium dodecyl sulfate polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis of plasma freshly collected from resting volunteers, followed by transfer of the gels onto plasminogen-rich fibrin-agarose plates. These two PA are also present in plasmas deficient in coagulation Factor XI, Factor XII, prekallikrein, or high molecular weight-kininogen. The slower-moving PA has an apparent 85,000 Mr and is immunologically unrelated to urokinase (UK). The faster moving PA was isolated by immunoadsorption of plasma on anti-UK IgG coupled to Sepharose 4B and appears to be identical to urinary high molecular weight-UK.

Characterization of endothelial-like cells derived from human mesenchymal stem cells.

BACKGROUND: Blood-derived endothelial progenitor cells (EPC) have been used to treat ischemic disease. However, the number of EPC that can be obtained from adult blood is limited. OBJECTIVE: To characterize endothelial-like cells obtained from human bone marrow and determine their ability to stimulate new blood vessel formation in vivo. METHODS: Mononuclear cells (MNC) were isolated from human bone marrow or umbilical cord blood and cultured in endothelial growth medium (EGM-2). Mesenchymal stem cells (MSC) were isolated from bone marrow and induced to differentiate into endothelial-like cells (MSCE), or adipocytes or osteocytes by growth in EGM-2, adipogenic or osteogenic medium. RESULTS: Cells obtained by culturing bone marrow MNC in EGM-2 formed cord- or tube-like structures when grown on Matrigel(TM) and expressed several endothelial marker proteins. However, cell morphology and the profile of endothelial marker protein expression were different from those of cord blood-derived EPC (cbEPC). Cells with a similar phenotype were obtained by differentiation of MSC into MSCE, which was accompanied by an increase of endothelial marker proteins and a diminished capacity to differentiate into adipocytes. Subcutaneous implantation of MSCE in collagen plugs in non-obese diabetic-severe combined immunodeficient (NOD-SCID) mice resulted in formation of functional blood vessels that had incorporated the MSCE. CONCLUSIONS: Our results show that MSCE and cbEPC are different cell types. The formation of functional blood vessels by MSCE, combined with high yields and a reduced capacity to differentiate into other cell types compared with MSC, makes these cells potentially useful for autologous therapy of ischemic disease.

Plasminogen activator inhibitor 2: regulation of gene transcription during phorbol ester-mediated differentiation of U-937 human histiocytic lymphoma cells.

We have isolated and sequenced two cDNA clones coding for plasminogen activator inhibitor 2 (PAI-2). The cDNA was used to study the regulation of PAI-2 gene transcription by the tumor-promoting phorbol ester phorbol 12-myristate 13-acetate in the human histiocytic lymphoma cell line U-937. The tumor promoter caused a transient, 50-fold increase of PAI-2 gene transcription.

The tetraspanin CD63/lamp3 cycles between endocytic and secretory compartments in human endothelial cells.

In the present study, we show that in human endothelial cells the tetraspanin CD63/lamp3 distributes predominantly to the internal membranes of multivesicular-multilamellar late endosomes, which contain the unique lipid lysobisphosphatidic acid. Some CD63/lamp3 is also present in Weibel-Palade bodies, the characteristic secretory organelle of these cells. We find that CD63/lamp3 molecules can be transported from late endosomes to Weibel-Palade bodies and thus that CD63/lamp3 cycles between endocytic and biosynthetic compartments; however, movement of CD63/lamp3 is much slower than that of P-selectin, which is known to cycle between plasma membrane and Weibel-Palade bodies. When cells are treated with U18666A, a drug that mimics the Niemann-Pick type C syndrome, both proteins accumulate in late endosomes and fail to reach Weibel-Palade bodies efficiently, suggesting that P-selectin, like CD63/lamp3, cycles via late endosomes. Our data suggest that CD63/lamp3 partitions preferentially within late endosome internal membranes, thus causing its accumulation, and that this mechanism contributes to CD63/lamp3 retention in late endosomes; however, our data also indicate that the protein can eventually escape from these internal membranes and recycle toward Weibel-Palade bodies to be reused. Our observations thus uncover the existence of a selective trafficking route from late endosomes to Weibel-Palade bodies.

Human primary colon carcinomas xenografted into nude mice. I. Characterization of plasminogen activators expressed by primary tumors and their xenografts.

Analysis was made of plasminogen activator (PA) activities present in 0.125% Triton X-100 extracts of human primary colon carcinomas and of their respective serial subcutaneous xenografts in nude mice. A correlation between tumor invasiveness and PA expression was observed in that primary tumors exhibiting clearly invasive growth patterns demonstrated high concentrations of PAs while subcutaneous xenografts, exhibiting noninvasive pseudobenign growth, contained very low levels of PA activity. The decrease in fibrinolytic activity observed in subcutaneous xenografts was not due to an increase in inhibitors of fibrinolytic activity. Immunologic characterization of PAs in tumor extracts showed that over 90% of human PA activity was of the urokinase type. Furthermore, tumor-derived urokinase was shown to be present in a proenzyme form. It was resistant to diisopropyl fluorophosphate (DFP) and was not inhibited by purified PA inhibitor. However, after its activation into urokinase by plasmin, it was completely inhibited by DFP and PA inhibitor.

Inhibition of invasion of HT1080 sarcoma cells expressing recombinant plasminogen activator inhibitor 2.

Plasminogen activators (PA) elaborated by tumor cells play an important role in the complex process of tissue invasion and metastasis. In the present study the effect of the PA inhibitor type 2 (PAI-2) on tissue invasion in vitro and in vivo was investigated. Clones either expressing (B-) or not expressing the endogenous PAI-2 gene (C+) were isolated from the human HT1080 fibrosarcoma cell line and transfected with full-length PAI-2 cDNA. Recombinant PAI-2 (rPAI-2) expressed by these cells completely inhibited receptor-bound urokinase activity and partially neutralized secreted PA activity. Degradation of extracellular matrix proteins by these transfected cells was markedly decreased when compared to mock or untransfected control cells. The rPAI-2-expressing cells did not penetrate a multilayer of rat smooth muscle cells in vitro, which was readily invaded and destroyed by control cells. The PAI-2 transfectants remained tumorigenic in athymic/nude mice, but tumors originating from these cells showed the presence of a thick, collagenous capsule absent in tumors formed by control cells. Thus, expression of rPAI-2 in HT1080 cells resulted in neutralization of receptor-bound urokinase with subsequent inhibition of matrix protein degradation and invasion in vitro and induction of a thick, peritumoral capsule in vivo.

Regulated von Willebrand factor (vWf) secretion is restored by pro-vWf expression in a transfectable endothelial cell line.

Von Willebrand factor (vWf) is a glycoprotein involved in primary hemostasis and synthesized in endothelial cells (EC). vWf is stored in secretory granules specific for EC called Weibel-Palade bodies (WPb). Studies on the molecular mechanisms of vWf storage and acute release are hampered by the limitations of the available endothelial cell culture models. We created a suitable model by stable transfection of the vWf-negative ECV304 endothelial cell line with pro-vWf cDNA. Pro-vWf was normally cleaved to mature vWf and stored in WPb. Acute vWf release occurred in response to the calcium ionophore A23187. Thus, vWf expression is sufficient to restore functional secretory granules in ECV304 cells. We used this model to study the role of WPb in the storage of tissue-type plasminogen activator (t-PA), a key fibrinolytic enzyme that is acutely released by EC, but whose intracellular storage compartment is still a matter of debate. We observed that restoration of WPb in ECV304 cells results in the targeting of t-PA to these storage granules.

Plasminogen activator inhibitor-2 in patients with monocytic leukemia.

Plasma and tumor cells from 103 patients with leukemia or lymphoma at initial presentation were investigated for the presence of plasminogen activator inhibitor-2 (PAI-2) antigen, a potent inhibitor of urokinase. PAI-2 was detected in plasma and leukemic cells of the 21 patients with leukemia having a monocytic component [acute myelomonocytic (M4), acute monoblastic (M5), and chronic myelomonocytic leukemias], and in the three patients with acute undifferentiated myeloblastic leukemia (M0). In contrast, this serine protease inhibitor was undetectable in 79 patients with other subtypes of acute myeloid leukemia or other hematological malignancies. Serial serum PAI-2 determinations in 16 patients with acute leukemia at presentation, during therapy, remission, and relapse revealed that in the five patients with M4-M5, elevated PAI-2 levels rapidly normalized under therapy and during remission, but increased again in the patients with a relapse associated with an M4-M5 phenotype. Thus, PAI-2 seems to be a marker highly specific for the active stages of monocytic leukemia, i.e. presentation and relapse. The presence of PAI-2 in the plasma and cells of patients with M0 may give a clue to a monocytic origin of these cells.

Retinoic acid potentiates phorbol ester-mediated induction of urokinase and plasminogen activator inhibitor type 2 in human myeloid leukemic cell lines.

We investigated the interactive regulation of the plasminogen activators (PAs) and their inhibitors (PAIs) by all-trans-retinoic acid (RA) in the presence and absence of the phorbol ester, phorbol myristate acetate (PMA), in four developmentally distinct human myeloid leukemic cell lines. Treatment of HL-60, K562, THP-1, and U937 cells with PMA resulted in an induction of urokinase-type PA (u-PA), the u-PA receptor (u-PAR), and PAI types 1 and 2 (PAI-1 and PAI-2). The addition of RA alone failed to alter gene expression or antigen production of PAI-1, PAI-2, or u-PAR. However, RA potentiated PMA-mediated induction of PAI-2 mRNA in HL-60 and U937 cells and PAI-2 antigen in all four cell lines. The effect of PMA on u-PA mRNA was also potentiated by RA in HL-60 and U937 cells. A similar, but transient, effect was seen on u-PA antigen levels. Run-on transcription analysis confirmed that these effects were due at least in part to changes in gene template activity. Furthermore, RA did not potentiate the effects of PMA on either u-PAR or PAI-1. In fact, in U937 cells, RA inhibited PMA-induced PAI-1 antigen secretion by approximately 60%. It would seem that interactive regulation of these genes allows for greater diversity of control, which may, in turn, be required for localized control of plasminogen-dependent extracellular proteolysis generated by monocytes/macrophage during cell migration and tissue remodeling.

Transcriptional antagonism of phorbol ester-mediated induction of plasminogen activator inhibitor types 1 and 2 by cyclic adenosine 3',5'-monophosphate.

Gene expression of plasminogen activator inhibitor (PAI) types 1 and 2 is modulated by the protein kinase-C (PKC) and cAMP-dependent protein kinase-A (PKA) signal transduction pathways. To determine whether the PKC and PKA pathways functionally interact during modulation of PAI gene expression, we assessed changes in gene transcription rates, mRNA, and antigen levels of PAI-1 and PAI-2 in HT-1080 fibrosarcoma cells treated with the PKC activator phorbol 12-myristate 13-acetate (PMA), alone or in combination with cAMP agonists and analogs. PMA produced a transient increase in PAI-1 and a sustained increase in PAI-2, which was evident at the level of gene transcription and mRNA. Treatment with the cAMP agonist forskolin or the cAMP analog 8-bromo-cAMP decreased constitutive and PMA-mediated expression of PAI-1 mRNA. PAI-2 mRNA was below detection limits in nontreated and cAMP-treated cells. However, elevated levels of cAMP reduced the stimulatory effect of PMA on PAI-2 mRNA. The antagonism of the PMA effect by cAMP was evident at the level of gene transcription, suggesting that the end point of the functional interplay between the PKC and PKA pathways requires modulation of a nuclear transcription factor(s). Our results suggest that the PKC- and PKA-dependent signaling pathways have counteractive effects on transcriptional expression of the PAI-1 and PAI-2 genes in HT-1080 cells.

Determination of intermediates, products and cleavage site in the reaction between plasminogen activator inhibitor type-2 and urokinases.

Several specific inhibitors for plasminogen activators have been isolated from various organs and cell lines, those from human placenta and the human monocyte-like cell line U-937 being virtually identical. The reaction between this type of inhibitor, designated as type-2, and high-Mr and low-Mr urokinase-type plasminogen activators was followed by reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatography and gel electrophoresis. The components, their stable complexes and their dissociation and cleavage products could be clearly identified in both systems. The amino acid sequence of the inhibitor at the cleavage site was determined to be -Met-Thr-Gly-Arg decreases Thr-Gly-His-Gly-. A 35-residue carboxy-terminal fragment was found to be released.

Effects of statins on adhesion molecule expression in endothelial cells.

BACKGROUND: Inhibitors of HMG-CoA reductase are widely used to prevent atherosclerosis progression. The expression of adhesion molecules on activated endothelial cells (EC) is an important step in the initiation and progression of atherosclerosis. OBJECTIVES: We investigated whether adhesion molecule expression on activated EC is influenced by simvastatin, fluvastatin and pravastatin and, if so, by which mechanisms. METHODS: Human EC from umbilical veins or saphenous veins were pretreated overnight with statins with or without mevalonate, and also for simvastatin or fluvastatin with the isoprenoid intermediates, farnesyl pyrophosphate (FPP), or geranylgeranyl pyrophosphate (GGPP). After 4-6 h activation with tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-alpha or lipopolysaccharide (LPS), surface adhesion molecule expression was evaluated by ELISA and by flow cytometry. The same experiments were performed with selective inhibitors of geranylgeranyltransferase (GGTI-286) and farnesyltransferase (FTI-277). RESULTS: Pretreatment with simvastatin, fluvastatin or pravastatin potentiated the TNF-alpha and LPS-induced expression of E-selectin and VCAM-1, and mevalonate reversed the potentiating effect of these statins. GGPP also reversed the potentiating effect of simvastatin or fluvastatin on adhesion molecule expression, while FPP only partially reversed this effect. Furthermore, GGTI-286, but not FTI-277, mimicked the effect of simvastatin by increasing the TNF-alpha-mediated overexpression of E-selectin. CONCLUSIONS: Statins increase E-selectin- and VCAM-1-induced expression on vascular endothelial cells stimulated with TNF-alpha or LPS. The inhibition of geranylgeranylated proteins could contribute to this effect.

Aspirin inhibits endothelial cell activation induced by antiphospholipid antibodies.

BACKGROUND: Antiphospholipid antibodies (APLA) have been shown to activate endothelial cells (EC) in vitro, as documented by an increased expression of tissue factor as well as leukocyte adhesion molecules such as intercellular adhesion molecule-1, vascular cell adhesion molecule (VCAM)-1 and E-selectin. Currently, treatment of patients with the antiphospholipid syndrome includes aspirin, particularly for women with recurrent fetal loss. OBJECTIVE: The present study was undertaken to investigate whether aspirin interferes with EC activation induced by APLA in vitro. METHODS: IgG from 14 patients with APLA, and suffering from thrombotic complications and/or pregnancy morbidity, and control IgG were tested for their ability to modify the expression of VCAM-1 in human umbilical vein endothelial cells. VCAM-1 antigen was measured by flow cytometry and its mRNA by quantitative reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction. RESULTS: Incubation of EC with IgG from most of the patients led to a higher VCAM-1 expression compared with incubation with control IgG. The effect of aspirin was studied for the eight IgG samples that induced a more than 50% increase in VCAM-1. Aspirin (10 mm) treatment of the cells significantly reduced the VCAM-1 response to these APLA. CONCLUSIONS: Our results indicate that besides its antiplatelet properties, aspirin exerts a protective effect towards APLA at the EC level by decreasing leukocyte adhesion molecule expression at the cell surface.

Constitutive plasminogen activator inhibitor 1 (PAI-1) biosynthesis in human Hep G2 hepatoma cells is maintained by an autocrine factor.

We studied the production of PAI-1 by human Hep G2 hepatoma cells. When culturing these cells in fresh medium (FM), PAI-1 accumulation rate was not linear: PAI-1 antigen after 24 h was 200 ng/10(6) cells while in subsequent 24 h periods, it was on average 1,000 ng/10(6) cells. Culture of Hep G2 cells in regular changes of a 12 h conditioned medium (CM) obtained from other Hep G2, instead of in FM, resulted in a 2-fold higher PAI-1 accumulation. In cells incubated in FM, PAI-1 mRNA declined rapidly after medium change and returned to basal levels after 24 h. In contrast, PAI-1 mRNA remained relatively stable when CM was used. The acute phase mediator interleukin 6 (IL-6) was not responsible for the autocrine stimulation of PAI-1: neither IL-6 nor antibodies to IL-6 altered the observed variations in PAI-1 expression. Our studies suggest the presence of an unknown PAI-1 stimulating factor.

Studies on the release of a plasminogen activator inhibitor by human platelets.

The relative contribution of platelets to plasminogen activator inhibitor (PA-inhibitor) activity in blood was investigated. From the difference in PA-inhibitor levels in platelet-poor plasmas of 12 donors (3 +/- 1 U/ml, mean +/- 95% confidence limits) and in the corresponding platelet-rich plasmas after induction of platelet aggregation by collagen, ADP or epinephrine (7 +/- 1 U/ml), it may be concluded that a greater amount of PA-inhibitor in blood is associated with platelets than with plasma. In collagen-stimulated platelets maximal release of PA-inhibitor and of beta-thromboglobulin (beta-TG) was attained within fifteen seconds, whereas in ADP-stimulated platelets the release of both factors was slower. In platelet-poor plasma no correlation was found between the level of PA-inhibitor and that of beta-TG. Thus, the PA-inhibitor found in plasma is not derived from platelets that had been stimulated after blood collection. The rate of complex formation and the Mr of the principal complexes of radioiodinated tissue-type plasminogen activator (t-PA) or urokinase (UK), in platelet-poor plasma, in platelet-rich plasma after platelet aggregation or in an extract of washed platelets was the same. Moreover, complexes of UK or t-PA with plasmatic PA-inhibitor or with the PA-inhibitor(s) from platelets bound to immobilized antibodies against bovine endothelial cell-derived PA-inhibitor. These results show that the PA-inhibitors in plasma and in platelets are very similar or identical.

The fast-acting inhibitor of tissue-type plasminogen activator in plasma is also the primary plasma inhibitor of urokinase.

We have compared the ability of a plasminogen activator inhibitor (PA-inhibitor) in human plasma, to form complexes with radioiodinated tissue-type plasminogen activator (t-PA) and high molecular weight urokinase (HMr-UK). Addition of 125I-t-PA (final concentration 10 IU/ml) or of 125I-HMr-UK (2 IU/ml) to a plasma containing 33 U/ml of PA-inhibitor resulted in the rapid formation of a 110,000 Mr complex of 125I-t-PA or a 95,000 Mr complex of 125I-HMr-UK with PA-inhibitor. Upon prolonged incubation of the plasma with 125I-HMr-UK a secondary complex of a Mr of 88,000 was observed, which probably derives from limited degradation of the 95,000 complex. Preincubation of the plasma with unlabelled t-PA, HMr-UK or LMr-UK at higher concentrations prevented the subsequent formation of complexes between radiolabelled PAs and the PA-inhibitor. These results thus demonstrate that t-PA and UK form complexes with the same PA-inhibitor. The rate of complex formation of 125I-t-PA or of 125I-HMr-UK with the plasma PA-inhibitor was similar (second order rate constant of association with PA-inhibitor in the order of 10(7) M-1s-1).

Plasminogen activator inhibitor 1 and plasminogen activator inhibitor 2 in various disease states.

The association of increased PA-inhibitor (PAI) activity and of PAI-1 and PAI-2 antigen levels with different pathological conditions was studied in a collective of over 300 patients. PAI-1 and PAI-2 levels were measured by specific radioimmunoassays. A good correlation was observed of PAI activity with PAI-1 antigen (r = 0.718; p less than 0.0001) but not with PAI-2 (r = 0.070; n.s.). Both in the controls and in the patients, PAI activity and PAI-1 antigen showed an extremely large range of values. PAI activity ranged from 0.5 to 68 U/ml and PAI-1 antigen from 6 to 600 ng/ml. Increased PAI activity and PAI-1 antigen was observed in patients with malignant tumors, cardiovascular or thromboembolic disease, in the postoperative phase, with hepatic insufficiency, after trauma and after extracorporeal circulation. The large spectrum of disease states with increased PAI activity and PAI-1 antigen reinforces previous suggestions that PAI-1 is an acute phase reactant. After extracorporeal circulation, PAI activity and PAI-1 concentrations strongly increased within one hour, remained elevated for at least one week and returned to preoperation values within 7 days. PAI-2 values ranged from below detection limit (15 ng/ml), observed in half of the plasmas, to 485 ng/ml in a pregnant woman. High values of PAI-2 were only observed in pregnancy.