Potency assays for Anistreplase: comparison of the fibrin plate assay and a 96-well plate assay.

Several production lots of Anistreplase (Eminase) were assayed for potency by either two fibrin plate assays or a clot lysis assay performed in 96-well microtiter plates. The 96-well plate assay yielded comparable data to the fibrin plate assays and had the advantage of greater efficiency with respect to both time and reagents. As a result the newer method appears to be a suitable alternative to the fibrin plate assays for lot release of Anistreplase.     

Monitoring modulators of platelet aggregation in a microtiter plate assay

Platelets play a central role in maintaining biological hemostasis. Inappropriate platelet activation is responsible for thrombotic diseases such as myocardial infarction and stroke. Therefore, novel agents that can inhibit platelet activation are necessary. However, assays that monitor platelet aggregation are generally time-consuming and require high volumes of blood and specialized equipment. Therefore, a medium- to high-throughput assay that can monitor platelet aggregation would be considered useful. Such an assay should be sensitive, comparable to the "gold standard" assay of platelet aggregometry, and able to monitor multiple samples simultaneously but with low assay volumes. We have developed such a microtiter assay. It can assay an average of 60 independent treatments per 60 ml blood donation and demonstrates greater sensitivity than the current gold standard assay, namely platelet aggregation in stirring conditions in a platelet aggregometer. The microtiter plate (MTP) assay can detect known inhibitors of platelet function such as indomethacin, aspirin, and ReoPro. It is highly reproducible when using standard doses of agonists such as thrombin receptor-activating peptide (20 microM) and collagen (0.19 mg/ml). Finally, the MTP assay is rapid and sensitive and can detect unknown platelet-modulating agents from a library of compounds.     

A microtiter plate transglutaminase assay utilizing 5-(biotinamido)pentylamine as substrate.

Transglutaminases belong to an important family of enzymes involved in hemostasis, skin formation, and wound healing. We describe a technique for the measurement of transglutaminase activity using polystyrene microtiter plates coated with N,N'-dimethylcasein. The substrate 5-(biotinamido)pentylamine is covalently incorporated into N,N'-dimethylcasein by transglutaminase in a calcium-dependent reaction. The biotinylated product is detected by streptavidin-alkaline phosphatase and quantitated by measuring the absorbance at 405 nm following the addition of p-nitrophenyl phosphate. The assay is sensitive, specific, and linear at plasma factor XIIIa concentrations between 0.08 and 1.25 micrograms/ml and at purified guinea pig liver transglutaminase concentrations between 0.05 and 0.8 microgram/ml. The intra-assay coefficient of variation is less than 8%. The solid-phase assay was used to quantitate the transglutaminase activity in Escherichia coli extracts expressing recombinant factor XIII A-chains and to analyze factor XIIIa inhibitors. This method will facilitate the analysis of structure-function relationships of the transglutaminases using recombinant DNA methods. Furthermore, screening of natural and synthetic factor XIIIa inhibitors will be expedited by this solid-phase microtiter plate assay.     

Enzyme-linked coagulation assay. III. Sensitive immunoassays for clotting factors II, VII, and X

The solid-phase clotting assay utilizing fibrinogen coated on the wells of a microtiter plate and peroxidase-fibrinogen in solution as a substrate for thrombin (enzyme-linked coagulation assay, ELCA) has been modified for use as an immunoassay. Direct inhibition of factors II, VII, and X by polyclonal (rabbit) antibodies and of factor X by monoclonal antibodies has been demonstrated at high dilution of these antibodies and detection of the specific factors using ELCA. Using plates coated with a second antibody (goat anti-mouse IgG) as well as fibrinogen, monoclonal antibodies to factors X and VII were measured by binding the active factor to the plate and detection of the bound factor using ELCA. The assay was very sensitive, permitting the detection of as little as 0.2 ng/ml (30 pg/assay) of monoclonal antibody, or less than 0.4 ng/ml (60 pg/assay) of factor Xa. When plates were coated with monoclonal antibody to factor X and fibrinogen, the assay permitted the identification of distinct epitope specificities for two monoclonal antibodies to factor X by distinct competition of the monoclonal antibodies added in the solution phase for binding of factor Xa to the plate. This assay could be applied generally for immunoassay of clotting factors, and could have application in general as an immunoassay amplification system.     

A highly sensitive chromogenic microtiter plate assay for plasminogen activators which quantitatively discriminates between the urokinase and tissue-type activators

A simple and highly sensitive chromogenic microtiter plate assay for plasminogen activators is described. The assay is based on plasmin cleavage of the synthetic tripeptide plasmin substrate H-D-norleucyl-hexahydrotyrosyl-lysine p-nitroaniline, which yields the yellow chromophore p-nitroanilide. Production of the latter compound is then quantitated spectrophotometrically at 405 nm on an ELISA plate reader. Linearity of the assay can be achieved over at least four orders of magnitude in a single experiment (0.01-100 milliPloug units) with appropriate incubation times. Capitalizing on tissue-type plasminogen activator's dependence on fibrin for enzymatic activity, the selective use of soluble fibrin products allows discrimination between urokinase and tissue-type activator. The utility of this aspect of the assay for the analysis of complex samples containing both types of plasminogen activators is demonstrated.     

Enzyme-linked coagulation assay: V. Amplified blotting assays using snake venom conjugates

We have previously reported an ultrasensitive microtiter plate assay, enzyme-linked coagulation assay (ELCA), which can measure a factor X activator isolated from Russell's viper venom (RVV-XA) at concentrations less than 0.1 amol/sample. The high sensitivity of this assay is derived from enzyme amplification via the clotting cascade in combination with the utilization of enzyme-labeled solution-phase and unlabeled solid-phase fibrinogen. Modification of the ELCA assay to detect RVV-XA directly bound to nitrocellulose, ELCA blot, as described in this report, allowed the detection of blotted RVV-XA at amounts as low as 2 fg. The high sensitivity of the ELCA blot was utilized to develop an immunodetection system for Western blots, the ELCA immunoblot, and a biotin/avidin protein stain for blotted membranes, biotin/avidin ELCA blot. For the ELCA immunoblot, using RVV-XA-labeled antibodies we were able to detect blotted placental alkaline phosphatase at amounts two orders of magnitude lower than those when using peroxidase-labeled antibodies. Using an avidin-RVV-XA conjugate in the biotin/avidin ELCA blot, 1 ng of biotinylated fibrinogen and 100 pg of biotinylated placental alkaline phosphatase, which had been subjected to electrophoresis and transferred to a nitrocellulose membrane, were visualized. These data support the general utility of the ELCA system for assay amplification on solid-phase matrices and demonstrate considerable potential of this methodology in "blotting" applications.     

High-throughput scintillation proximity assay for transglutaminase activity measurement

Members of the transglutaminase enzyme family are involved in a broad range of biological phenomena, including haemostasis, apoptosis, semen coagulation, skin formation, and wound healing. A new and rapid method for measurement of transglutaminase activity is described in this article. The enzyme links tritium-labeled putrescine to biotinylated oligoglutamine, and the tritiated peptide is bound to a streptavidin-coated microtiter plate permanently covered by a thin layer of scintillant. Only the radioisotope incorporated into the peptide substrate is close enough to the scintillant molecules for photons to be produced. The signal generation depends on the transglutaminase activity, and it can be detected by appropriate light-measuring instrumentation without separation steps. The assay is sensitive, specific, linear at concentrations of tissue transglutaminase between 0.05 and 1.6m U/ml, and suitable for high-throughput measurements.     

Thrombin Generation in Zebrafish Blood

To better understand hypercoagulability as an underlying cause for thrombosis, the leading cause of death in the Western world, new assays to study ex vivo coagulation are essential. The zebrafish is generally accepted as a good model for human hemostasis and thrombosis, as the hemostatic system proved to be similar to that in man. Their small size however, has been a hurdle for more widespread use in hemostasis related research. In this study we developed a method that enables the measurement of thrombin generation in a single drop of non-anticoagulated zebrafish blood. Pre-treatment of the fish with inhibitors of FXa and thrombin, resulted in a dose dependent diminishing of thrombin generation, demonstrating the validity of the assay. In order to establish the relationship between whole blood thrombin generation and fibrin formation, we visualized the resulting fibrin network by scanning electron microscopy. Taken together, in this study we developed a fast and reliable method to measure thrombin generation in whole blood collected from a single zebrafish. Given the similarities between coagulation pathways of zebrafish and mammals, zebrafish may be an ideal animal model to determine the effect of novel therapeutics on thrombin generation. Additionally, because of the ease with which gene functions can be silenced, zebrafish may serve as a model organism for mechanistical research in thrombosis and hemostasis.     

Enzyme-linked coagulation assay. IV. Sensitive sandwich enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays using Russell's viper venom factor X activator-antibody conjugates

We have applied the enzyme-linked coagulation assay (ELCA) system to the development of an amplified immunoassay using the clotting cascade to enhance sensitivity of detection of immune complexes. The factor X-activating enzyme of Russell's viper venom was detectable using ELCA in amounts as low as 0.25 fg per assay. Monoclonal antibodies to beta-hCG, placental alkaline phosphatase (PLAP), and the P-24 antigen of HTLV-III were labeled with this enzyme or peroxidase and used for "sandwich" immunoassays using another monoclonal antibody (beta-hCG, PLAP) or polyclonal patient IgG (P-24 antigen) bound to a polylysine-glutaraldehyde-coated plate as a "capture" reagent. After the immunobinding step, the plate was washed and substrate consisting of a mixture of factors X, V, and II in buffer containing calcium and lipid was incubated for various lengths of time. The mixture was transferred to another plate coated with fibrinogen and containing peroxidase-fibrinogen in EDTA solution to measure the amount of thrombin generated. Using this protocol, we were able to measure the presence of 2-10 pg/ml of beta-hCG and PLAP (5-30 amol per sample). All three model antigens were detectable at concentrations 2-3 orders of magnitude less using RVV-XA-labeled antibodies and ELCA than they were using peroxidase-labeled antibodies. The assay has considerable potential as a general immunoassay amplification system, yielding a "color test" for antigens of interest with a detection limit not readily attainable using other chromogenic methodologies.     

A spectrophotometric solid-phase fibrin-tissue plasminogen activator activity assay (SOFIA-tPA) for high-fibrin-affinity tissue plasminogen activators

A new spectrophotometric solid-phase fibrin-tissue plasminogen activator activity assay (SOFIA-tPA), specific for the quantitation of tissue plasminogen activators, is described. The method is based on (1) the high-affinity binding (Kp = 1.4 +/- 2 nM) of tPA to a solid-phase fibrin network constructed by thrombin proteolysis of fibrinogen covalently coupled to polyglutaraldehyde-activated polyvinyl chloride microtiter plates, and (2) the subsequent development of PA activity by the fibrin-tPA complex and its measurement with a coupled assay using a chromogenic substrate highly selective for plasmin. Conditions were chosen such that the rate of para-nitroaniline release from the substrate is directly proportional to the concentration of tPA. The support is able to isolate tPA from the bulk of proteins present in any biological fluid allowing the assay to specifically detect tPA activity (range: 0.01 to 50 IU/ml) even in the presence of other activators, proteases, and inhibitors. Since the assay is done in a well-defined reaction mixture (the fibrin-tPA complex, plasminogen, and the synthetic substrate), kinetics studies using pure or crude tPA can be performed. Standard curves (rate measurement and endpoint methods) were made using the international standard (preparation 83/517) for tPA.     

A sensitive standardised micro-gel well diffusion assay for the determination of antimicrobial activity

We have developed a highly sensitive micro-gel well diffusion assay for the determination of antimicrobial activity. In essence, the normal radial diffusion type assay was adapted to perform it in a microtiter plate. We compared our micro-gel well diffusion assay to a radial diffusion assay and a microtiter broth dilution method, using gramicidin S as model antibiotic, and Micrococcus luteus as the indicator organism. The micro-gel well diffusion assay was as sensitive as the microtiter broth dilution method, and approximately twice as sensitive as the radial diffusion method. Data analysis to calculate minimum inhibitory concentration, 50% microbial growth inhibition and maximum inhibitory concentration was refined by generating dose-response curves with the software package Prism 3.0 (Graphpad Software Inc.). The minimum inhibitory concentrations, determined by the three methods, were significantly different (P<0. 001), highlighting the limitations involved in comparing data obtained from different methods.     

A microtiter plate assay for protein kinase C

We report the development of a microtiter plate assay for protein kinase C. Reaction components and enzyme samples (protein kinase C purified by phosphatidylserine/cholesterol affinity or DEAE-Sephacel ion-exchange chromatography) were added to wells of a 96-well microtiter plate. The assay was started by the addition of [gamma-32P]ATP with a repeating pipet. After a 3-min incubation at 30 degrees C the wells were sampled six at a time with a 12-channel pipet and spotted onto phosphocellulose filter paper rectangles which were washed with tap water and acetone and counted for radioactivity. The microtiter plate method was more rapid than but gave results similar to those of a standard assay performed in plastic test tubes individually incubated in a 30 degrees C water bath. The microtiter plate procedure gave an intraassay (within one plate) variation of less than 9% and an interassay (between plates) variation of less than 5%. It was linear with time of incubation for 20 min and with amount of enzyme. This method can be used to expedite the assaying of column chromatography fractions for protein kinase C (and other kinase) activity.     

Microtiter plate cellular assay for human steroid sulfatase with fluorescence readout

Steroid sulfatase (STS; E.C. 3.1.6.2) is an enzyme involved in the local production of estrogens and androgens in target organs. Inhibitors of steroid sulfatase activity are considered novel therapeutic agents for the treatment of different pathologic conditions, including cancers of breast, endometrium, and prostate and disorders of the pilosebaceous unit. Evaluation of steroid sulfatase inhibition in cells up to now has been a cumbersome process, involving the extraction of a radioactive cleavage product into organic solvents. Here, we describe a rapid, nonradioactive cellular assay in microtiter plate format, using 4-methylumbelliferyl sulfate as a substrate. The reaction product, 4-methylumbelliferone, is read in a fluorescence microtiter plate reader. Several cell lines were assayed for sulfatase activity. To increase the sensitivity of the assay, we developed a Chinese hamster ovary (CHO) cell line stably transfected with a cDNA encoding the human steroid sulfatase. The steroid sulfatase activity in transfected cells correlated with the presence of the enzyme in these cells, as determined by immunofluorescence. For most STS inhibitors tested, including estrone-3-O-sulfamate, the results from the CHO cellular assay were in good agreement with those from a standard cell-free assay.     

Microtiter plate assay for assessment of Listeria monocytogenes biofilm formation

Listeria monocytogenes has the ability to form biofilms on food-processing surfaces, potentially leading to food product contamination. The objective of this research was to standardize a polyvinyl chloride (PVC) microtiter plate assay to compare the ability of L. monocytogenes strains to form biofilms. A total of 31 coded L. monocytogenes strains were grown in defined medium (modified Welshimer's broth) at 32 degrees C for 20 and 40 h in PVC microtiter plate wells. Biofilm formation was indirectly assessed by staining with 1% crystal violet and measuring crystal violet absorbance, using destaining solution. Cellular growth rates and final cell densities did not correlate with biofilm formation, indicating that differences in biofilm formation under the same environmental conditions were not due to growth rate differences. The mean biofilm production of lineage I strains was significantly greater than that observed for lineage II and lineage III strains. The results from the standardized microtiter plate biofilm assay were also compared to biofilm formation on PVC and stainless steel as assayed by quantitative epifluorescence microscopy. Results showed similar trends for the microscopic and microtiter plate assays, indicating that the PVC microtiter plate assay can be used as a rapid, simple method to screen for differences in biofilm production between strains or growth conditions prior to performing labor-intensive microscopic analyses.     

Rapid and sensitive detection of b-galactosidase-producing yeasts by using microtiter plate assay

Yeast b-galactosidase activity was detected by a microtiter plate assay using pNPG or Xgal as substrate in 30 minutes. The detection gave a clear result which is well correlated with the specific b-galactosidase activity present in each strain studied. The microtiter plate assay is an effective method to improve the detection and quantify the b-galactosidase gene in recombinant strains of Saccharomyces cerevisiae.     

Spatial Distribution of Factor Xa,Thrombin, and Fibrin(ogen) on Thrombi at Venous Shear

Background

The generation of thrombin is a critical process in the formation of venous thrombi. In isolated plasma under static conditions, phosphatidylserine (PS)-exposing platelets support coagulation factor activation and thrombin generation; however, their role in supporting coagulation factor binding under shear conditions remains unclear. We sought to determine where activated factor X (FXa), (pro)thrombin, and fibrin(ogen) are localized in thrombi formed under venous shear.

Methodology/Principal Findings

Fluorescence microscopy was used to study the accumulation of platelets, FXa, (pro)thrombin, and fibrin(ogen) in thrombi formed in vitro and in vivo. Co-perfusion of human blood with tissue factor resulted in formation of visible fibrin at low, but not at high shear rate. At low shear, platelets demonstrated increased Ca²⁺ signaling and PS exposure, and supported binding of FXa and prothrombin. However, once cleaved, (pro)thrombin was observed on fibrin fibers, covering the whole thrombus. In vivo, wild-type mice were injected with fluorescently labeled coagulation factors and venous thrombus formation was monitored in mesenteric veins treated with FeCl₃. Thrombi formed in vivo consisted of platelet aggregates, focal spots of platelets binding FXa, and large areas binding (pro)thrombin and fibrin(ogen).

Conclusions/Significance

FXa bound in a punctate manner to thrombi under shear, while thrombin and fibrin(ogen) distributed ubiquitously over platelet-fibrin thrombi. During thrombus formation under venous shear, thrombin may relocate from focal sites of formation (on FXa-binding platelets) to dispersed sites of action (on fibrin fibers).     

A functional assay for measuring activated thrombin-activatable fibrinolysis inhibitor in plasma

Thrombin-activatable fibrinolysis inhibitor (TAFI) is a procarboxypeptidase found in plasma that is activated by thrombin, the thrombin-thrombomodulin complex, or plasmin. The active carboxypeptidase, TAFIa, attenuates fibrinolysis by removing newly exposed carboxy-terminal lysine residues on fibrin. The half-maximal effect of TAFIa on clot lysis occurs at 1 nM and the maximal effect occurs at 20 nM. Since the circulating concentration of the procarboxypeptidase is approximately 75 nM, only a small portion needs to be activated to have a significant effect on clot lysis. Several assays to measure total plasma TAFI levels and plasma TAFIa levels after it is fully activated exist. However, no currently available assay is sufficiently sensitive and specific to measure endogenous TAFIa in plasma. We have devised a new sensitive and specific assay for TAFIa in plasma that is based on physiologic function. This assay is based on the fact that TAFIa decreases the cofactor activity of high-molecular-weight fibrin degradation products in the stimulation of plasminogen cleavage in a concentration-dependent fashion. With this assay, we can measure TAFIa concentrations as low as 10 pM in plasma and it is not affected by variability in other hemostatic factors. This assay is reliable and repeatable with intra- and interassay variabilities of 6.5 and 6.1%, respectively.     

A scintillation proximity assay amenable for screening and characterization of DNA gyrase B subunit inhibitors.

DNA gyrase is the target of coumarin and cyclothialidine antibacterials, which bind to the B subunit of the enzyme (GyrB). Currently available GyrB inhibitors have not been clinically successful, but their high in vitro potency against DNA gyrase has raised interest in the development of novel noncoumarin antibacterials acting at the same site. We report the development of a simple scintillation proximity assay (SPA) for the study of binding interactions between coumarin or noncoumarin antibacterials and GyrB, which prevents the needs of separation steps and can be run in microtiter plate formats. The assay is based on the detection of the binding of a radioligand, [3H]dihydronovobiocin, to a biotin-labeled 43-kDa fragment of GyrB (biotin-GyrB43), which is captured by streptavidin-coated SPA beads. The typical assay was conducted in 96-well microtiter plates, with final concentration of 10 nM for biotin-GyrB43, 20 nM for [3H]dihydronovobiocin, and 33 microg of SPA beads/well. From saturation experiments, an equilibrium dissociation constant (K(d)) for dihydronovobiocin of 8.10 nM was found. Displacement studies gave 50% inhibitory concentrations (IC(50)) of 42, 64, and 11 nM for novobiocin, dihydronovobiocin, and the cyclothialidine analogue GR122222X, respectively, consistent with previous findings. The assay was found to be robust to dimethyl sulfoxide up to 5% (v/v) and can be used for high-throughput screens of large chemical collections in the search of novel DNA gyrase inhibitors.     

A nonradioactive assay for type IV collagen degradation

A sensitive assay for type IV collagen degradation using an avidin-biotin sandwich technique is described. Biotinylated type IV collagen is allowed to bind to an avidin-coated microtiter plate. The solution to be assayed is incubated with the biotinylated collagen bound to the avidin plate. Collagen degraded by the solution is released into the supernatant and transferred to a second plate coated with avidin. By addition of biotinylated horseradish peroxidase to this second plate, the amount of collagen degraded is determined. Our assay requires only 0.5 microgram of type IV collagen per microtiter plate and detects nanogram quantities of bacterial collagenase activity.     

Kinetic assay for characterization of spleen tyrosine kinase activity and inhibition with recombinant kinase and crude cell lysates

Spleen tyrosine kinase (Syk) is involved in the activation of cells implicated in allergic or autoimmune diseases and certain cancers. Therefore, Syk inhibitors may prove to be effective in treating diseases where Syk activity or expression is increased or deregulated. We developed a continuous and direct (noncoupled) fluorescence intensity assay for measuring Syk activity using purified recombinant enzyme or crude lysates generated from anti-immunoglobulin M (IgM) antibody-treated RAMOS cells. The assay is based on the chelation-enhanced fluorophore 8-hydroxy-5-(N,N-dimethylsulfonamido)-2-methylquinoline (referred to as Sox), which has been incorporated into a peptide substrate selected for robust detection of Syk activity. This homogeneous assay is simple to use, provides considerably more information, and has been adapted to a 384-well, low-volume microtiter plate format that can be used for the high-throughput identification and kinetic characterization of Syk inhibitors. The assay can be performed with a wide range of adenosine triphosphate (ATP) concentrations and, therefore, can be used to analyze ATP-competitive and ATP-noncompetitive/allosteric kinase inhibitors. Measurement of Syk activity in RAMOS crude cell lysates or immunoprecipitation (IP) capture formats may serve as a physiologically more relevant enzyme source. These Sox-based continuous and homogeneous assays provide a valuable set of tools for studying Syk signaling and for defining inhibitors that may be more effective in controlling disease.