Interactions of plasminogen activator inhibitor-1 with vitronectin involve an extensive binding surface and induce mutual conformational rearrangements.

In order to explore early events during the association of plasminogen activator inhibitor-1 (PAI-1) with its cofactor vitronectin, we have applied a robust strategy that combines protein engineering, fluorescence spectroscopy, and rapid reaction kinetics. Fluorescence stopped-flow experiments designed to monitor the rapid association of PAI-1 with vitronectin indicate a fast, concentration-dependent, biphasic binding of PAI-1 to native vitronectin but only a monophasic association with the somatomedin B (SMB) domain, suggesting that multiple phases of the binding interaction occur only when full-length vitronectin is present. Nonetheless, in all cases, the initial fast interaction is followed by slower fluorescence changes attributed to a conformational change in PAI-1. Complementary experiments using an engineered, fluorescently silent PAI-1 with non-natural amino acids showed that concomitant structural changes occur as well in native vitronectin. Furthermore, we have measured the effect of vitronectin on the rate of insertion of the reactive center loop into beta-sheet A of PAI-1 during reaction with target proteases. With a variety of PAI-1 variants, we observe that both full-length vitronectin and the SMB domain have protease-specific effects on the rate of loop insertion but that the two exhibit clearly different effects. These results support a model for PAI-1 binding to vitronectin in which the interaction surface extends beyond the region of PAI-1 occupied by the SMB domain. In support of this model are recent results that define a PAI-1-binding site on vitronectin that lies outside the somatomedin B domain (Schar, C. R., Blouse, G. E., Minor, K. H., and Peterson, C. B. (2008) J. Biol. Chem. 283, 10297-10309) and the complementary site on PAI-1 (Schar, C. R., Jensen, J. K., Christensen, A., Blouse, G. E., Andreasen, P. A., and Peterson, C. B. (2008) J. Biol. Chem. 283, 28487-28496).

Additivity in effects of vitronectin and monoclonal antibodies against alpha-helix F of plasminogen activator inhibitor-1 on its reactions with target proteinases.

The serpin plasminogen activator inhibitor-1 (PAI-1) is a potential therapeutic target in cardiovascular and cancerous diseases. PAI-1 circulates in blood as a complex with vitronectin. A PAI-1 variant (N-((2-(iodoacetoxy)ethyl)-N-methyl)amino-7-nitrobenz-2-oxa-3-diazole (NBD) P9 PAI-1) with a fluorescent tag at the reactive center loop (RCL) was used to study the effects of vitronectin and monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) directed against alpha-helix F (Mab-2 and MA-55F4C12) on the reactions of PAI-1 with tissue-type and urokinase-type plasminogen activators. Both mAbs delay the RCL insertion and induce an increase in the stoichiometry of inhibition (SI) to 1.4-9.5. Binding of vitronectin to NBD P9 PAI-1 does not affect SI but results in a 2.0-6.5-fold decrease in the limiting rate constant (klim) of RCL insertion for urokinase-type plasminogen activator at pH 6.2-8.0 and for tissue-type plasminogen activator at pH 6.2. Binding of vitronectin to the complexes of NBD P9 PAI-1 with mAbs results in a decrease in klim and in a 1.5-22-fold increase in SI. Thus, vitronectin and mAbs demonstrated additivity in the effects on the reaction with target proteinases. The same step in the reaction mechanism remains limiting for the rate of RCL insertion in the absence and presence of Vn and mAbs. We hypothesize that vitronectin, bound to alpha-helix F on the side opposite to the epitopes of the mAbs, potentiates the mAb-induced delay in RCL insertion and the associated substrate behavior by selectively decreasing the rate constant for the inhibitory branch of PAI-1 reaction (ki). These results demonstrate that mAbs represent a valid approach for inactivation of vitronectin-bound PAI-1 in vivo.