Antiangiogenic kringles derived from human plasminogen and apolipoprotein(a) inhibit fibrinolysis through a mechanism that requires a functional lysine-binding site

Many proteins in the fibrinolysis pathway contain antiangiogenic kringle domains. Owing to the high degree of homology between kringle domains, there has been a safety concern that antiangiogenic kringles could interact with common kringle proteins during fibrinolysis leading to adverse effects in vivo. To address this issue, we investigated the effects of several antiangiogenic kringle proteins including angiostatin, apolipoprotein(a) kringles IV(9)-IV(10)-V (LK68), apolipoprotein(a) kringle V (rhLK8) and a derivative of rhLK8 mutated to produce a functional lysine-binding site (Lys-rhLK8) on the entire fibrinolytic process in vitro and analyzed the role of lysine binding. Angiostatin, LK68 and Lys-rhLK8 increased clot lysis time in a dose-dependent manner, inhibited tissue-type plasminogen activator-mediated plasminogen activation on a thrombin-modified fibrinogen (TMF) surface, showed binding to TMF and significantly decreased the amount of plasminogen bound to TMF. The inhibition of fibrinolysis by these proteins appears to be dependent on their functional lysine-binding sites. However, rhLK8 had no effect on these processes owing to an inability to bind lysine. Collectively, these results indicate that antiangiogenic kringles without lysine binding sites might be safer with respect to physiological fibrinolysis than lysine-binding antiangiogenic kringles. However, the clinical significance of these findings will require further validation in vivo.     

The interaction between plasminogen and antiplasmin variants as studied by surface plasmon resonance

The interaction between immobilized plasminogen or an elastase-degradation product from plasminogen, constituting "kringles" 1-3 and different purified variants of antiplasmin has been studied by surface plasmon resonance utilising a BIAcore. The antiplasmin variants studied are wild-type, K429E, K436E, E443G, D444G, K452E and K452T. It is shown that the two mutants K452T and K452E react in quite a similar way as wt-antiplasmin, suggesting that Lys452 is not involved in the lysine-binding site interaction between plasminogen and antiplasmin. On the other hand, the mutant K436E displays a much lower k(a). The affinity between plasminogen or the fragment constituting "kringles" 1-3 and K436E were also much lower than with wt-antiplasmin. Thus, also the data obtained with surface plasmon resonance show that Lys436 indeed is very important in the lysine-binding site mediated interaction between plasminogen and antiplasmin.     

Characterization of the high-affinity interaction between human plasminogen and pro-urokinase

Activation of human Glu-plasminogen, Lys-plasminogen and low-Mr plasminogen (lacking lysine-binding sites) by pro-urokinase (pro-UK), obtained from a human lung adenocarcinoma cell line (Calu-3, ATCC), obeys Michaelis-Menten kinetics. Activation occurs with a comparable affinity (Km 0.40-0.77 microM), while the catalytic rate constant (kcat) is comparable for Glu-plasminogen (0.0022s-1) and low-Mr plasminogen (0.0034 s-1), but is somewhat higher for Lys-plasminogen (0.0106 s-1). The rate of activation of plasminogen by pro-UK is not significantly influenced by the presence of 6-aminohexanoic acid, purified fragments LBS I or LBS II or histidine-rich glycoprotein, indicating that the high affinity of pro-UK for plasminogen is not mediated via the high-affinity lysine-binding site of plasminogen located in kringles 1-3 (LBS I) nor via the low-affinity lysine-binding site comprised within kringle 4 (LBS II). The site(s) in plasminogen involved in the high-affinity interaction with pro-UK thus appear to be located within the low-Mr plasminogen moiety.     

Two classes of lysine-binding sites of plasminogen molecule

Affinity of plasminogen fragments K1, K2-3, K4 and K5 for 6-aminophenyl-Sepharose was investigated to characterize the lysine-binding sites of the protein. K1 and K5 fragments were bound to the affinity column, whereas kringle 2-3 and kringle 4 were not. The results obtained and data known from literature have indicate that two types of lysine-binding sites are present in the plasminogen molecule. Both positively and negatively charged groups of the ligand are necessary for binding with the first-type sites (K4 and K2-3). The interaction between ligands and the second-type sites localized in kringles 1 and 5 is provided by their positively charged group only.     

Fully automated protein purification

Obtaining highly purified proteins is essential to begin investigating their functional and structural properties. The steps that are typically involved in purifying proteins can include an initial capture, intermediate purification, and a final polishing step. Completing these steps can take several days and require frequent attention to ensure success. Our goal was to design automated protocols that would allow the purification of proteins with minimal operator intervention. Separate methods have been produced and tested that automate the sample loading, column washing, sample elution and peak collection steps for ion exchange, metal affinity, hydrophobic interaction, and gel filtration chromatography. These individual methods are designed to be coupled and run sequentially in any order to achieve a flexible and fully automated protein purification protocol.     

Identification of Toxoplasma gondii proteins binding human lactoferrin: a new aspect of rhoptry proteins function

In this paper, we report on the isolation, purification and identification of two Toxoplasma gondii membrane proteins binding human lactoferrin. Parasite membrane proteins were isolated using the commercial Mem-PER Eukaryotic Membrane Protein Extraction System. After purification by lactoferrin affinity chromatography, three protein bands were detected with the molecular mass of 74, 63 and 58 kDa, two of which (63 and 58 kDa) specifically bound biotin labeled human lactoferrin as examined by competitive inhibition. Further identification of latter proteins by ESI/MS/MS amino acid sequencing technique revealed those proteins as Toxoplasma ROP4 (band 63 kDa) and ROP2 (band 58 kDa) antigens known to be involved in many mechanisms essential for the parasite pathogenicity, including host lactoferrin acquisition as determined in this study.     

Rapid purification of porcine colostral whey lactoferrin by affinity chromatography on single-stranded DNA-agarose. Characterization, amino acid composition and N-terminal amino acid sequence

We have determined that the major iron-binding and DNA-binding protein in porcine colostral whey is lactoferrin. This lactoferrin was purified to homogeneity in one chromatographic step using immobilized single-stranded DNA-agarose. Although different in chromatographic behavior from human lactoferrin, the porcine lactoferrin purified in this manner was shown to be homogeneous by high-performance ion-exchange chromatography (Mono-S), immobilized metal ion (Cu2+) affinity chromatography, size-exclusion chromatography (TSK-4000SW), and reverse-phase (phenyl) chromatography. Electrophoresis on SDS-polyacrylamide gradient (10-20%) gels under reducing conditions showed the purified lactoferrin to be a single protein (silver-stained) of 78 kDa. Apolactoferrin purified in this manner bound iron and displayed a UV/VIS absorption spectrum indistinguishable from that of human lactoferrin. The molar absorption coefficient of hololactoferrin was 3.86 x 10(3) M-1 at 465 nm and 1.08 x 10(5) M-1 at 280 nm. Affinity elution analyses of the purified lactoferrin on immobilized DNA revealed that the affinity of this protein for DNA was independent of bound iron. Porcine lactoferrin was recognized by antibodies directed against human lactoferrin and bovine lactoferrin. The amino acid composition and N-terminal amino acid sequence analysis (30 residues) revealed a high degree of sequence homology with human, equine and bovine lactoferrin. These results demonstrate the effectiveness of immobilized DNA as a rapid and simple lactoferrin purification procedure and demonstrate the presence of a lactoferrin in porcine colostral whey with a high degree of sequence homology to human lactoferrin.     

Design of affinity tags for one-step protein purification from immobilized zinc columns

Affinity tags are often used to accomplish recombinant protein purification using immobilized metal affinity chromatography. Success of the tag depends on the chelated metal used and the elution profile of the host cell proteins. Zn(II)-iminodiacetic acid (Zn(II)-IDA) may prove to be superior to either immobilized copper or nickel as a result of its relatively low binding affinity for cellular proteins. For example, almost all Escherichia coli proteins elute from Zn(II)-IDA columns between pH 7.5 and 7.0 with very little cellular protein emerging at pH values lower than 7.0. Thus, a large portion of the Zn(II)-IDA elution profile may be free of contaminant proteins, which can be exploited for one-step purification of a target protein from raw cell extract. In this paper we have identified several fusion tags that can direct the elution of the target protein to the low background region of the Zn(II)-IDA elution profile. These tags allow targeting of proteins to different regions of the elution profile, facilitating purification under mild conditions.     

Apolipoprotein(a): structure-function relationship at the lysine-binding site and plasminogen activator cleavage site

Apolipoprotein(a) [apo(a)] is the distinctive glycoprotein of lipoprotein Lp(a), which is disulfide linked to the apo B100 of a low density lipoprotein particle. Apo(a) possesses a high degree of sequence homology with plasminogen, the precursor of plasmin, a fibrinolytic and pericellular proteolytic enzyme. Apo(a) exists in several isoforms defined by a variable number of copies of plasminogen-like kringle 4 and single copies of kringle 5, and the protease region including the backbone positions for the catalytic triad (Ser, His, Asp). A lysine-binding site that is similar to that of plasminogen kringle 4 is present in apo(a) kringle IV type 10. These kringle motifs share some amino acid residues (Asp55, Asp57, Phe64, Tyr62, Trp72, Arg71) that are key components of their lysine-binding site. The spatial conformation and the function of this site in plasminogen kringle 4 and in apo(a) kringle IV-10 seem to be identical as indicated by (i) the ability of apo(a) to compete with plasminogen for binding to fibrin, and (ii) the neutralisation of the lysine-binding function of these kringles by a monoclonal antibody that recognises key components of the lysine-binding site. In contrast, the lysine-binding site of plasminogen kringle 1 contains a Tyr residue at positions 64 and 72 and is not recognised by this antibody. Plasminogen bound to fibrin is specifically recognised and cleaved by the tissue-type plasminogen activator at Arg561-Val562, and is thereby transformed into plasmin. A Ser-Ile substitution at the activation cleavage site is present in apo(a). Reinstallation of the Arg-Val peptide bond does not ensure cleavage of apo(a) by plasminogen activators. These data suggest that the stringent specificity of tissue-type plasminogen activator for plasminogen requires molecular interactions with structures located remotely from the activation disulfide loop. These structures ensure second site interactions that are most probably absent in apo(a).     

A 1H-NMR study of isolated domains from human plasminogen. Structural homology between kringles 1 and 4

Kringles 1 and 4 from human plasminogen are polypeptide domains of Mr approximately equal to 10000 each of which can be isolated by proteolysis of the zymogen. They have been studied by 1H-NMR spectroscopy at 300 MHz and 600 MHz. The spectra, characteristic of globular structures, show striking analogies that point to a close conformational relatedness among the two kringles, consistent with their high degree of amino acid conservancy and homology. The interaction of both kringles with p-benzylaminesulfonic acid (BASA), an antifibrinolytic drug that binds to a lysine-binding site, results in better resolved, narrower lines for both spectra. Aromatic and methyl-region spectra of BASA complexes of kringles 1 and 4 were compared and the latter was studied by two-dimensional NMR spectroscopy. Analysis of the CH3 multiplets in terms of their resonance patterns, and the amino acid compositions and sequences of the two kringles, leads to the identification of most signals and to some assignments. In particular, a doublet at -1 ppm, exhibited by both kringles and also found in reported proton spectra of homologous bovine prothrombin fragments, has been assigned to Leu46, a residue that is conserved in all of the kringles studied to date by 1H-NMR. Since this resonance is somewhat more sensitive to BASA than other methyl signals, it is likely that Leu46 is proximal to the lysine-binding site. Nuclear Overhauser experiments reveal that Leu46 is surrounded by a cluster of closely interacting hydrophobic and aromatic side chains. Kringle 4 was also compared with a derivative chemically modified at Trp72 with dimethyl(2-hydroxy-5-nitrobenzyl)sulfonium bromide. As judged from the proton spectra, the modified kringle 4 retains globularity and is perturbed mainly in the aromatic region, in analogy to that which is observed for the unmodified kringle upon BASA binding. Furthermore, although previous studies have indicated no retention of the modified kringle by lysine-Sepharose, the NMR studies point to a definite interaction between BASA and the kringle derivative. The spectroscopic data also suggest that the His31 imidazole is not significantly affected by the ligand and that the lysine-binding site is structured mostly by hydrophobic side chains, including Trp72 in the case of kringle 4, and probably Tyr72 in kringle 1.     

Interactions of a fluorescently labeled peptide with kringle domains in proteins

The tripeptide Lys-Cys-Lys has been synthesized and covalently labeled at the cysteine sulfhydryl with 4-acetamido-4-maleimidylstilbene-2,2-disulfonic acid to produce a fluorescent labeled peptide (FLP). When excited at 340 nm, the FLP fluoresces strongly with maximal intensity at 405 nm. Addition of proteins containing the kringle lysine-binding domain, such as human lipoprotein (a) and plasminogen kringle 4, significantly attenuate the fluorescence intensity of the FLP. Other proteins, such as bovine serum albumin, did not affect the quantum yield of FLP fluorescence. When human lipoprotein (a) is bound to a lysine-Sepharose affinity column, FLP was found to effectively elute the protein, indicating that the peptide can compete with lysine for the kringle-binding site on lipoprotein (a). The data suggest that FLP binds specifically to kringles through the lysine residues on the peptide, and that binding significantly affects the fluorescence from the labeled peptide. These properties of FLP make it a potentially useful tool for studying the relative affinity of different kringles for lysine binding, which is thought to be an important mechanism for kringle-target protein interactions.     

Organ-specific properties of cytochromes P-450s21 (steroid 21-hydroxylases) of liver and adrenocortical microsomes

Prothrombin, plasminogen, urokinase- and tissue-type plasminogen activators contain homologous structures known as kringles . The kringles correspond to autonomous structural and folding domains which mediate the binding of these multidomain proteins to other proteins. During evolution the different kringles retained the same gross architecture, the kringle -fold, yet diverged to bind different proteins. We show that the amino acid sequences of the type II structures of the gelatin-binding region of fibronectin are homologous with those of the protease- kringles . Prediction of secondary structures revealed a remarkable agreement in the positions of predicted beta-sheets, suggesting that the folding of kringles and type II structures may also be similar. As a corollary of this finding, the disulphide-bridge pattern of type II structures is shown to be homologous to that in kringles . It is noteworthy that protease- kringles and fibronectin type II structures have similar functions inasmuch as they mediate the binding of multidomain proteins to other proteins. It is proposed that the kringles of proteases and type II structures of fibronectin evolved from a common ancestral protein binding module.     

Affinity-chromatographic purification of human alpha 2-antiplasmin.

A new simple and efficient purification method for alpha 2-antiplasmin is described that is based on the interaction between alpha 2-antiplasmin and a fragment from elastase-digested plasminogen constituting the three N-terminal triple-loop structures in the plasmin A-chain (LBSI). After a single-step adsorption of the alpha 2-antiplasmin from plasminogen-depleted plasma to LBSI-Sepharose and elution with 6-aminohexanoic acid, an 80-90% pure preparation with a yield of 50-60% is obtained. The major impurity is fibrinogen, which can easily be removed by gel filtration, and, as a result, a homogeneous fully active alpha 2-antiplasmin preparation is obtained that has the same properties as previously described for alpha 2-antiplasmin. Evidence is put forward that a form of alpha 2-antiplasmin with less affinity for the lysine-binding sites in plasminogen may exist, even in unfractionated plasma.     

The Nano-tag, a streptavidin-binding peptide for the purification and detection of recombinant proteins

We present a new streptavidin-binding peptide for both the purification and the detection of recombinant proteins. The peptide possesses nanomolar-affinity for streptavidin and therefore was termed Nano-tag. The Nano-tag(15) is 15 amino acids long and binds to streptavidin with a dissociation constant of 4 nM and the Nano-tag(9) is a 9-mer peptide with a dissociation constant of 17 nM. We demonstrate the one-step purification of Nano-tagged proteins, namely bovine heart fatty acid-binding protein (FABP), bacterial chloramphenicol acetyltransferase (CAT), and green fluorescent protein (GFP), from an in vitro translation system as well as from an Escherichia coli lysate. No significant influence of the Nano-tag(15) and of the conditions during affinity chromatography on maturation or activity of the proteins was observed whereas the Nano-tag(9) revealed a slight decline in the amount and activity of the synthesized proteins. The main advantage of the Nano-tag is the mild and specific elution with washing buffer plus biotin or related compounds, which enables the elution of the bound fusion protein from the streptavidin column in the native state. Additionally, the Nano-tag allowed the detection of recombinant proteins on Western blots by a streptavidin-alkaline phosphatase conjugate.     

Comparison of crude and affinity purified cytosolic epoxide hydrolases from hepatic tissue of control and clofibrate-fed mice

An affinity purification procedure was developed for the cytosolic epoxide hydrolase based upon the selective binding of the enzyme to immobilized methoxycitronellyl thiol. Several elution systems were examined, but the most successful system employed selective elution with a chalcone oxide. This affinity system allowed the purification of the cytosolic epoxide hydrolase activity from livers of both control and clofibrate-fed mice. A variety of biochemical techniques including pH dependence, substrate preference, kinetics, inhibition, amino acid analysis, peptide mapping, Western blotting, analytical isoelectric focusing, and gel permeation chromatography failed to distinguish between the enzymes purified from control and clofibrate-fed animals. The quantitative removal of the cytosolic epoxide hydrolase acting on trans-stilbene oxide from 100,000g supernatants, allowed analysis of remaining activities acting differentially on cis-stilbene oxide and benzo[a]pyrene 4,5-oxide. Such analysis indicated the existence of a novel epoxide hydrolase activity in the cytosol of mouse liver preparations.     

Synthesis of a naphthylvinylpyridine derivative and its use for affinity chromatography of choline acetyltransferase

N-(10-carboxy)decamethylene-4(1-naphthylvinyl)pyridinium chloride, a derivative of the choline acetyltransferase (CAT) inhibitor naphthylvinylpyridine (NVP) was synthesized and used as a ligand for affinity chromatography of choline acetyltransferase. The preparation of this inhibitor included the quaternization of naphthylvinylpyridine with 11-Br-undecanoic acid methyl ester to obtain N-(10-carbomethoxy)decamethylene-4-(1-naphthylvinyl)pyridinium bromide, followed by hydrolysis to free the carboxylic group. This inhibitor (C11-NVP+) had a potency comparable to that of N-methyl-4(1-naphthylvinyl) pyridinium iodide (C1-NVP+) which is the most potent derivative of NVP but which lacks a functional group for conjugation to Sepharose. The C11-NVP+ was then bound through the carboxylic group to aminoalkyl Sepharose by a carbodiimide promoted condensation reaction. Interaction of CAT with the inhibitor retarded its elution from a column of Sepharose-C11-NVP+ and permitted the purification of the enzyme to electrophoretic homogeneity starting from a preparation in which CAT represented about 20% of the total proteins. Conventional procedures of protein purification had previously been unsuccessful in isolating the enzyme in pure form. Inhibition studies showed that CAT could exhibit either a "high" or a "low" sensitivity to inhibition by naphthylvinylpyridine and its derivatives (I50 with C1-NVP+ = 0.57 microM or 5.2 microM). A direct relationship existed between the sensitivity of CAT to these inhibitors and the retention of the enzyme by the affinity column.     

Purification and characterization of 2-oxoaldehyde dehydrogenase from rat liver.

The partial purification (123-fold) of 2-oxoaldehyde dehydrogenase (2-oxoaldehyde:NAD(P)+ oxidoreductase, 1.2.1.23) from rat liver was carried out using a purification procedure which involved (NH4)2SO4 fractionation, DEAE-Sephadex chromatography, Blue-Dextran affinity chromatography and CM-Sephadex chromatography. A single form of the enzyme was observed, mol. wt. approx. 50000 by gel chromatography. 2-Oxoaldehyde dehydrogenase appears to be highly specific for NADP+ and methylglyoxal. No activity is observed in the absence of certain amines which have vicinal amino and hydroxyl groups. The only known amine which activates the enzyme at physiological pH is L-serine methyl ester, suggesting that the regulation of this enzyme in vivo may require a derivative of serine.     

Purification of a recombinant membrane protein tagged with a calmodulin-binding domain: properties of chimeras of the Escherichia coli nicotinamide nucleotide transhydrogenase and the C-terminus of human plasma membrane Ca2+ -ATPase

A Ca2+ -dependent calmodulin-binding peptide (CBP) is an attractive tag for affinity purification of recombinant proteins, especially membrane proteins, since elution is simply accomplished by removing/chelating Ca2+. To develop a single-step calmodulin/CBP-dependent purification procedure for Escherichia coli nicotinamide nucleotide transhydrogenase, a 49 amino acid large CBP or a larger 149 amino acid C-terminal fragment of human plasma membrane Ca2+ -ATPase (hPMCA) was fused C-terminally to the beta subunit of transhydrogenase. Fusion using the 49 amino acid fragment resulted in a dramatic loss of transhydrogenase expression while fusion with the 149 amino acid fragment gave a satisfactory expression. This chimeric protein was purified by affinity chromatography on calmodulin-Sepharose with mild elution with EDTA. The purity and activity were comparable to those obtained with His-tagged transhydrogenase and showed an increased stability. CBP-tagged transhydrogenase contained a 4- to 10-fold higher amount of the alpha subunit relative to the beta subunit as compared to wild-type transhydrogenase. To determine whether the latter was due to the CBP tag, a double-tagged transhydrogenase with both an N-terminal 6x His-tag and a CBP-tag, purified by using either tag, gave no significant increase in purity as compared to the single-tagged protein. The reasons for the altered subunit composition are discussed. The results suggest that, depending on the construct, the CBP-tag may be a suitable affinity purification tag for membrane proteins in general.     

Immunochromatography on insolubilized antibodies of very low affinity: application to immunoadsorbence of bovine alpha-fetoprotein.

Cross-reactive antibodies were utilized to prepare immunoadsorbents possessing a very low affinity to bovine alpha-fetoprotein (AFP). A goat anti-human AFP serum cross-reactive with bovine AFP was first depleted of antibodies reactive with bovine AFP in immunodiffusion. The remaining antibodies from this serum and gamma-globulin from a sheep antiserum against rabbit AFP, without prior absorption, were coupled to Sepharose. Chromatography of fetal calf serum on these adsorbents resulted in retardation of bovine AFP relative to other proteins. A major part of the AFP eluted from the columns with phosphate-buffered saline. The rest eluted as a sharp peak with a small quantity of 4 or 6 M urea. The elution of AFP with the initial column buffer has made it possible to prepare pure AFP that has not been subjected to the chaotropic elution buffers usually employed in affinity chromatography. Elimination of the washing step and the ease of elution has allowed purification of gram amounts of AFP. The fact that immunoadsorbents prepared from antibodies with no detectable reactivity in immunodiffusion still caused delayed elution in chromatography suggests that this procedure may be useful in search of proteins cross-reactive with a known protein.     

Immobilized palladium(II) ion affinity chromatography for recovery of recombinant proteins with peptide tags containing histidine and cysteine

Fusion of peptide‐based tags to recombinant proteins is currently one of the most used tools for protein production. Also, immobilized metal ion affinity chromatography (IMAC) has a huge application in protein purification, especially in research labs. The combination of expression systems of recombinant tagged proteins with this robust chromatographic system has become an efficient and rapid tool to produce milligram‐range amounts of proteins. IMAC‐Ni(II) columns have become the natural partners of 6xHis‐tagged proteins. The Ni(II) ion is considered as the best compromise of selectivity and affinity for purification of a recombinant His‐tagged protein. The palladium(II) ion is also able to bind to side chains of amino acids and form ternary complexes with iminodiacetic acid and free amino acids and other sulfur‐containing molecules. In this work, we evaluated two different cysteine‐ and histidine‐containing six amino acid tags linked to the N‐terminal group of green fluorescent protein (GFP) and studied the adsorption and elution conditions using novel eluents. Both cysteine‐containing tagged GFPs were able to bind to IMAC‐Pd(II) matrices and eluted successfully using a low concentration of thiourea solution. The IMAC‐Ni(II) system reaches less than 20% recovery of the cysteine‐containing tagged GFP from a crude homogenate of recombinant Escherichia coli, meanwhile the IMAC‐Pd(II) yields a recovery of 45% with a purification factor of 13. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.