Structural requirements for tissue factor pathway inhibitor interactions with factor Xa and heparin.

Tissue factor pathway inhibitor (TFPI) is a multivalent Kunitz-type protease inhibitor, which inhibits factor Xa directly and in a factor Xa dependent manner inhibits the factor VIIa/tissue factor catalytic complex. Altered forms of recombinant TFPI (rTFPI) were tested for their ability to inhibit human factor Xa and bovine gamma-carboxyglutamate (Gla)-domainless factor Xa in the presence and absence of calcium ions, heparin, phospholipids, and factor Va. Sequential deletions of the positively charged C-terminus of TFPI produces proteins that have decreasing inhibitory activity against factor Xa as well as decreasing affinity for heparin-agarose. Deletion of the C-terminus distal to Leu181, which eliminates the third Kunitz-type domain, results in the loss of heparin-agarose binding at physiological ionic strength. Furthermore, the entire C-terminal polypeptide, including at least a portion of the third Kunitz-type domain, appears to be involved in heparin binding. Residues 230-241 probably form an alpha helix in which Lys231 and Arg237 within the Kunitz domain and Lys240 and Lys241 could provide a positively charged surface epitope capable of binding heparin. Heparin and Ca2+ together, but not individually, enhance the rate of factor Xa inhibition by full-length TFPI. The effect of heparin is concentration dependent and biphasic (maximal between 0.1 and 1.0 unit/ml) suggesting that the acceleration of factor Xa inhibition occurs at least in part through a 'template' mechanism.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Tissue factor pathway inhibitor: the carboxy-terminus is required for optimal inhibition of factor Xa.

Tissue factor pathway inhibitor (TFPI) is a multivalent Kunitz-type protease inhibitor that binds to and inactivates factor Xa directly, and in a factor Xa-dependent fashion inhibits the factor VIIa/tissue factor catalytic complex. TFPI is a slow, tight-binding, competitive, and reversible inhibitor of factor Xa, in which the formation of an initial encounter complex between TFPI and factor Xa is followed by slow isomerization to a final, tightened complex. Wild-type recombinant TFPI (rTFPI), expressed in mouse C127 cells, separates into two forms on heparin-agarose chromatography that elute at 0.3 mol/L and 0.6 mol/L NaCl. Western blot analysis shows that both forms contain the N-terminus of full-length TFPI, but only rTFPI(0.6) is recognized by an antibody directed against the C-terminus. rTFPI(0.3) and rTFPI(0.6) inhibit factor Xa with 1:1 stoichiometry and inhibit factor VIIa/tissue factor equally in an endpoint-type assay. However, rTFPI(0.6) is a more potent inhibitor than rTFPI(0.3) of coagulation in normal plasma induced by either factor Xa or tissue factor. The initial inhibition of factor Xa (less than 5 seconds) produced by rTFPI(0.6) is several-fold greater than that produced by rTFPI(0.3), presumably reflecting a lower Ki of the immediate encounter complex between factor Xa and TFPI. The differential effect of these forms of TFPI on tissue factor-induced coagulation in normal plasma appears to be directly related to their ability to inhibit factor Xa. To confirm the role of the C-terminal region of TFPI in optimal factor Xa inhibition, a carboxy-terminal mutant of rTFPI, which is truncated after leucine 252 and thus lacks the basic sequence K T K R K R K K Q R V K (residues 254-265), was expressed in C127 cells. This form of rTFPI elutes from heparin-agarose at 0.28 mol/L NaCl and inhibits factor Xa at a rate that is slower than rTFPI(0.3). The Ki(final)s for factor Xa inhibition by rTFPI(0.6), rTFPI(0.3), and rTFPI1-252 are 3.1 +/- 0.6, 19.6 +/- 0.8, and 19.6 +/- 3.0 pmol/L, respectively.

The effect of leukocyte elastase on tissue factor pathway inhibitor.

Tissue factor pathway inhibitor (TFPI) is a multivalent Kunitz-type inhibitor that directly inhibits factor Xa and, in a factor Xa-dependent fashion, also inhibits the factor VIIa/tissue factor (TF) catalytic complex. The Kunitz-2 domain in TFPI is needed for the binding and inhibition of factor Xa, while the Kunitz-1 domain appears to be responsible for binding factor VIIa in a quaternary factor Xa-TFPI-factor VIIa/TF inhibitory complex. Human leukocyte elastase (HLE) proteolytically cleaves TFPI between threonine-87 and threonine-88 within the polypeptide that links the Kunitz-1 and Kunitz-2 domains in the TFPI molecule. HLE treatment not only affects the ability of TFPI to inhibit factor VIIa/TF, but also dramatically reduces its inhibition of factor Xa. Both purified HLE and stimulated neutrophils regenerate TF activity from a preformed factor Xa-TFPI-factor VIIa/TF inhibitory complex. Kinetic analysis suggests that HLE cleavage does not effect the affinity of the initial encounter interaction between factor Xa and TFPI, whereas it markedly reduces the affinity of the final factor Xa:TFPI complex with Ki (final) values for untreated and HLE-treated TFPI of 58 pmol/L and 4.4 nmol/L, respectively. Thus, an epitope in the amino-terminal region of TFPI or a conformation of the TFPI molecule that requires the presence of this region is needed in concert with the Kunitz-2 domain to produce optimal inhibition of factor Xa by TFPI.

Structure of the human lipoprotein-associated coagulation inhibitor gene. Intro/exon gene organization and localization of the gene to chromosome 2.

Lipoprotein-associated coagulation inhibitor (LACI) is a multivalent, Kunitz-type proteinase inhibitor which appears to play an important role in the regulation of hemostasis. LACI directly inhibits factor Xa, and, in a Xa-dependent fashion, also inhibits the factor VIIa-tissue factor catalytic complex. Hybridization of a LACI cDNA probe to DNA isolated from a panel of human-mouse somatic cell hybrids containing different human chromosomes localized the human LACI gene to chromosome 2. In situ hybridization to metaphase chromosomes further mapped the gene to the region 2q31----2q32.1. Exons of the human LACI gene were cloned from genomic or chromosome 2-specific phage libraries and sequenced, including approximately 500 base pairs of 5' upstream DNA. The 5' DNA did not contain a prototypical TATAA box or CCAAT sequence, and attempts to identify a unique site for the initiation of transcription were unsuccessful in that primer extension and S1 nuclease protection analysis indicate multiple transcription initiation sites for LACI messages. Comparing the gene sequence with LACI cDNA sequences indicates that the gene contains nine exons and that alternative splicing can occur, resulting in the absence of exon 2 in the 5' untranslated region of some messages. The three Kunitz domains in LACI are encoded on separate exons. Introns which interrupt coding sequences all occur in the same codon phase interrupting the first and second bases of the codon triplets. The data are consistent with LACI evolving by a combination of gene segment duplications and exon shuffling.

Endogenous phosphorylation of the lipoprotein-associated coagulation inhibitor at serine-2.

Lipoprotein-associated coagulation inhibitor (LACI) inhibits activated Factor X (Xa) directly and, in an Xa-dependent fashion, inhibits Factor VIIa-tissue factor (TF), presumably by forming a quaternary Xa-LACI-VIIa-TF complex. LACI isolated from the conditioned media of HepG2 cells grown in the presence of [32P]orthophosphate was observed to be covalently phosphorylated. Dephosphorylation of 32P-LACI with phosphatase resulted in an almost complete removal of the radiolabel. Phosphoamino acid analysis of the purified 32P-LACI established that the phosphorylation occurred on (a) serine residue(s). At its N-terminus, LACI contains a cluster of acidic residues C-terminal to the serine-2 residue. Such a site is characteristic of the sites phosphorylated by casein kinase II (CKII) in protein substrates. Edman degradation of endogenously labelled 32P-LACI revealed that the serine-2 residue was a major site of phosphorylation. Phosphorylation of purified LACI by bovine CKII was observed to occur in vitro; amino acid sequence analysis demonstrated that CKII phosphorylated LACI at the serine-2 residue. Recombinant LACI expressed from mouse C127 fibroblasts transfected using a bovine-papilloma-virus expression vector was found to be endogenously phosphorylated. By using site-directed mutagenesis, an altered form of LACI was produced in which the serine-2 residue had been changed to alanine. This altered LACI, although expressed in similar quantity to the wild-type LACI, was not detectably phosphorylated. Using the altered LACI in functional studies demonstrated that a serine residue at position 2, and thus the phosphorylation of this site, was not essential for LACI's inhibition of Xa and VIIa-TF activities.

Inhibition of factor VIIa-tissue factor coagulation activity by a hybrid protein.

Lipoprotein-associated coagulation inhibitor (LACI) appears to inhibit tissue factor (TF)-induced blood coagulation by forming a quaternary inhibitory complex containing factor Xa, LACI, factor VIIa, and TF. A genetically engineered hybrid protein consisting of the light chain of factor Xa and the first Kunitz-type inhibitor domain of LACI is shown to directly inhibit the activity of the factor VIIa-TF catalytic complex. Unlike inhibition of factor VIIa-TF activity by native LACI, inhibition by the hybrid protein is not dependent on factor Xa. In an assay of TF-induced coagulation, 50% TF inhibition occurs with hybrid protein at 35 nanograms per milliliter, whereas LACI at 2.5 micrograms per milliliter is required for an equivalent effect. gamma-Carboxylation of glutamic acid residues in the factor Xa light chain portion of the hybrid protein is required for inhibitory activity, indicating that the first Kunitz-type domain of LACI alone is not sufficient for inhibition of factor VIIa-TF.

Functional significance of the Kunitz-type inhibitory domains of lipoprotein-associated coagulation inhibitor.

Blood coagulation can be initiated when factor VII or VIIa, a plasma protease, binds to its essential cofactor, tissue factor (TF), and proteolytically activates factors IX and X, triggering a cascade of events which eventually leads to the formation of thrombin and a fibrin clot. Plasma contains a lipoprotein-associated coagulation inhibitor (LACI) which inhibits activated factor X (Xa) directly and, in a Xa-dependent way, inhibits VII(a)/TF activity, presumably by forming a quaternary Xa/LACI/VII(a)/TF complex. Sequence analysis of complementary DNA clones has shown that LACI contains three tandemly repeated Kunitz-type serine protease inhibitory domains. To investigate the relationship between these Kunitz structures and LACI function, we have used site-directed mutagenesis to produce altered forms of LACI in which the residue at the active-site cleft of each Kunitz domain has been individually changed. The second Kunitz domain is required for efficient binding and inhibition of Xa, and both Kunitz domains 1 and 2 are required for the inhibition of VIIa/TF activity; but alteration of the active-site residue of the third Kunitz domain has no significant effect on either function. We propose that in the putative inhibitory complex, Kunitz domain 1 is bound to the active site of VII(a)/TF and that Kunitz domain 2 is bound to Xa's active site.