Interaction between heparin and human pregnancy-associated plasma protein A (PAPP-A): a simple purification procedure

Human pregnancy-associated plasma protein A (PAPP-A) binds to heparin-Sepharose. This affinity chromatography preceded by molecular sieve chromatography provides a simple two-step purification procedure of PAPP-A from late pregnancy plasma. One hundred percent of the applied PAPP-A was recovered, with more than 40% being electrophoretically homogeneous after the two procedures. The remaining PAPP-A could be purified by negative affinity chromatography on anti-total human serum immobilized on agarose.     

Purification of basic fibroblast growth factor from rat brain: identification of a Mr 22,000 immunoreactive form

A 18,000-dalton protein which stimulates plasminogen activator (PA) activity in endothelial GM 7373 cells has been purified from rat brain by using heparin affinity chromatography and ion-exchange chromatography. The purified molecule stimulates PA activity in a dose-dependent manner between 1 and 30 ng/ml. It also stimulates proliferation of GM 7373 cells and DNA synthesis in NIH 3T3 cells in a similar concentration range. The molecule has been identified as a bFGF-like molecule on the basis of its biological activity, its affinity for heparin-Sepharose, and its cross-reactivity with anti-human bFGF antibodies. In the final preparation of the rat brain bFGF, trace amounts (less than 5%) of a contaminant were detectable. This contaminant has a molecular weight of 22,000 and cross reacts with several anti-human placental bFGF antibodies. On the basis of its affinity for heparin-Sepharose and its immunological characteristics, this protein appears to be an high molecular weight form of bFGF.     

Purification of cartilage-derived growth factor by heparin affinity chromatography

Cartilage-derived growth factor (CDGF) was found to bind tightly to columns of immobilized heparin and could be eluted with concentrations of salt in the order of 1.6-1.8 M NaCl. The molecular weight of CDGF was estimated to be 18,000-20,000 by high performance liquid-size exclusion chromatography. The affinity of CDGF for heparin greatly facilitated its purification. Highly purified CDGF active at about 1-2 ng/ml was obtained when crude cartilage extract was applied to heparin-Sepharose and the growth factor activity was recycled over heparin-Sepharose two more times. Analysis by sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis and silver stain visualization of highly purified CDGF showed one major polypeptide band with a molecular weight of about 19,000 containing over 95% of the protein and one minor polypeptide band containing the rest of the protein. Only the Mr 19,000 polypeptide was active after elution from the polyacrylamide gel. Although CDGF bound tightly to immobilized heparin, it did not bind to immobilized chondroitin sulfate or hyaluronic acid. In addition, CDGF bound to heparin much more tightly than did platelet-derived growth factor even though these two growth factors had similar isoelectric points of about 10. These results suggest that the binding of CDGF to heparin was due to a specific affinity of the 2 molecules for each other.     

GRP94-associated enzymatic activities. Resolution by chromatographic fractionation

GRP94 (gp96), which performs established functions as a molecular chaperone and immune system modulator, has been reported to display a number of intrinsic enzymatic activities, including ATP hydrolysis, protein phosphorylation, and aminopeptidase. In observing that GRP94 co-purified with bacterial beta-galactosidase through multiple chromatographic steps, we have examined the hypothesis that the reported enzymatic activities of GRP94 may reflect co-purification of contaminant enzymes, rather than intrinsic catalytic functions. In subjecting GRP94 to increasingly stringent chromatographic purification, we report that a GRP94 carboxyl-terminal directed protein kinase activity could be separated from GRP94 by heparin affinity chromatography. Analysis of the kinase substrate specificity indicates that this kinase is distinct from casein kinase II, which is known to co-purify with GRP94. Electrophoretically pure GRP94 displayed low, but significant levels of aminopeptidase activity. Further purification of GRP94 by anion exchange and heparin affinity chromatography yielded resolution of GRP94 from the aminopeptidase activity. Furthermore, exhaustive trypsinolysis of GRP94 preparations displaying aminopeptidase activity yielded complete proteolysis of GRP94 but did not affect aminopeptidase activity. These results are discussed with respect to current models for GRP94 function and the role of such co-purifying (poly)peptides in the generation of GRP94-dependent cellular immune responses.     

Metabolic effects of heparin on rat cervical epithelial cells

The glycosaminoglycan heparin inhibits the growth of a number of different cell types in vitro including smooth muscle cells, mesangial cells, fibroblasts, and rat cervical epithelial cells (RCEC). Studies investigating the antiproliferative effects of heparin on smooth muscle cells have demonstrated the site of the cell cycle block and revealed several metabolic alterations that could be causally associated with growth inhibition. We have investigated these metabolic parameters in RCEC to determine whether they are also associated with the antiproliferative effects of heparin in epithelial cells. Heparin acts rapidly to inhibit RCEC growth with inhibition detectable by autoradiography 7 h after the addition of heparin. Heparin treated RCEC begin to enter S-phase 12 h after the removal of heparin. These findings suggest that heparin blocks RCEC in the early-to-mid G1 phase of the cell cycle rather than late in G1 or early in S-phase as has previously been demonstrated for smooth muscle cells. Unlike smooth muscle cells, the uptake of thymidine and uridine is not inhibited by heparin in RCEC. Treatment of medium with heparin-Sepharose does not reduce the subsequent growth of RCEC; heparin inhibits the growth of RCEC in heparin-Sepharose treated medium in a manner identical to that in nontreated medium. Therefore the growth inhibitory effects of heparin cannot be explained by the inactivation of mitogens present in serum. In contrast to its effects on smooth muscle cells, heparin treatment of RCEC does not result in a reduction in the binding of epidermal growth factor (EGF) to the cells. These results indicate that although heparin inhibits the growth of a variety of cell types, significant differences exist in the responses of the different cells to heparin.     

Preparation of a homogeneous and stable form of bovine milk lipoprotein lipase

Lipoprotein lipase was purified to homogeneity from bovine skim milk by a two-step procedure using chromatography on heparin-Sepharose. As determined by gradient-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis in sodium dodecyl sulfate, purified lipoprotein lipase showed a single band with an apparent molecular weight of 55,000. The use of Triton N-101 in the washing buffers was the major improvement from previously reported purification procedures that resulted in a stable homogeneous preparation of the enzyme.     

Isolation and partial characterization of human platelet vinculin

A 130,000 Mr protein was isolated from human platelets by sequential DEAE-Sephacel and Sepharose Cl-4B chromatography. Low shear viscometric measurements showed that the enriched protein after DEAE-Sephacel chromatography inhibited actin polymerization. This effect was somewhat greater in the presence of EGTA than in the presence of calcium. Further purification by Sepharose Cl-4B chromatography resulted in a complete loss of this inhibitory effect. Studies with fluorescent actin detected no nucleation or "+" end capping activity in either the DEAE-Sephacel- or Sepharose Cl-4B-purified vinculin. Antibodies raised in mice against the 130,000-mol-wt protein were shown to cross-react with chicken gizzard vinculin and a similar molecular weight protein was detected in WI38 cells and, Madin-Darby canine kidney cells. Lysis experiments with the Madin-Darby canine kidney cells indicated that most of the vinculin was soluble in Triton X-100, although some was found associated with the insoluble cytoskeletal residue. By immunofluorescence, vinculin in WI38 cells was localized to adhesion plaques as described by others. Discrete localization in platelets was also detected and appeared to depend on their state of adhesion and spreading. The results of these experiments suggest that human platelets contain a protein similar to vinculin. It is not clear if platelet vinculin is associated with structures analogous to adhesion plaques found in other cell types. The data indicate that the previously reported effects of nonmuscle vinculins on actin polymerization may be due to a contaminant or contaminants.     

Purification and characterization of an endothelial cell growth factor from serum-free culture medium of human diploid fibroblast cells

Serum-free culture supernatants of human embryo fibroblast cells contain endothelial cell growth factor (f-ECGF) which supports the serial propagation of human umbilical vein endothelial cells in the serum-free culture medium (medium A). This growth-stimulating activity has been partially purified from serum-free culture-conditioned medium. The stability of the activity to acid (pH 4.0-4.5) was utilized for the first step in purification. f-ECGF had a high affinity to heparin-Sepharose CL-6B, and was isolated by the methods of heparin affinity, of ion-exchange and gel filtration chromatography from the serum-free culture-conditioned medium preparation. The purified f-ECGF had an isoelectric point in the pH range 4.5-6, and a molecular weight of approx. 30 kDa determined by either gel filtration or SDS-polyacrylamide gradient gel electrophoresis. The f-ECGF has high affinity for concanavalin A column, and the activity was partially eluted from the column with ethylene glycol and alpha-methylmannose. The results indicate that f-ECGF is an acidic-glyco-protein with heterogeneous sugar chain(s).     

Purification from human plasma of a heparin-released lipase with activity against triglyceride and phospholipids.

A triglyceride lipase different from lipoprotein lipase, but measurable only after intravenous heparin injection, has been isolated from human plasma by sequential use of heparin-Sepharose and concanavalin A-Sepharose affinity chromatography. Using these procedures, phospholipase A1 activity was found to chromatograph identically with the triglyceride lipase. The constancy of the ratio of activities after isoelectric focusing (pI 4.1) and during thermal deactivation indicates that this enzyme has hydrolase activity against both triglycerides and phospholipids. This conclusion was supported further by the homogeneity of the protein as indicated by sodium dodecyl sulfate polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis.     

Heparin inhibition of smooth muscle cell proliferation: a cellular site of action

The potential of a given amount of heparin to inhibit smooth muscle cell (SMC) proliferation can be increased more than 13 fold if quiescent cultures are pretreated with this mucopolysaccharide for 48 h. The large increase in antiproliferative activity was attributable to a 74% inhibition of the first cell cycle traverse of SMC after serum addition. If the mucopolysaccharide was added to SMC coincident with serum, the initial cell cycle traverse was only suppressed by 27%. In both heparin pretreated and nonpretreated SMC cultures, 48 to 72 h elapsed before substantial inhibition was observed. The inhibitory effects of heparin were reversible and inversely proportional to the starting cell density of the cultures. The effects of known heparin binding proteins on the inhibitory capability of heparin were examined. Neither platelet-derived growth factor (PDGF), low density lipoprotein (LDL), nor platelet factor 4 (PF4) were able to reduce the antiproliferative effects. Heparin retained full biological activity in medium containing serum depleted of all heparin binding proteins by heparin-Sepharose chromatography. These results indicate that heparin does not inhibit growth by preventing serum mitogens or nutrients from interacting with SMC. Rather, our data suggest that heparin is slowly internalized by SMC following binding to specific, non-PF4 dissociable sites. Heparin may accumulate intracellularly and block a crucial point in the proliferative machinery of SMC.     

Cell surface adhesion of pregnancy-associated plasma protein-A is mediated by four clusters of basic residues located in its third and fourth CCP module.

The metalloproteinase pregnancy-associated plasma protein-A (PAPP-A) cleaves a subset of insulin-like growth factor binding proteins (IGFBP), which inhibit the activities of insulin-like growth factor (IGF). Through this proteolytic activity, PAPP-A is believed to regulate IGF bioavailability in several biological systems, including the human reproductive system and the cardiovascular system. PAPP-A adheres to mammalian cells by interactions with glycosaminoglycan (GAG), thus targeting the proteolytic activity of PAPP-A to the cell surface. Based on site-directed mutagenesis, we here delineate the PAPP-A GAG-binding site in the C-terminal modules CCP3 and CCP4. Using heparin affinity chromatography, commonly employed in such studies, we define three clusters of arginines and lysines of CCP3, which are important for the interaction of PAPP-A with heparin. In a model of PAPP-A CCP3-CCP4, basic residues of these sequence clusters form a contiguous patch located on one side of the structure. Binding to the unknown, natural cell surface receptor of PAPP-A, assessed by flow cytometry, also depends on residues of these three basic clusters. However, single or double residue substitutions generally have a modest effect on PAPP-A heparin binding assessed by chromatography, but cell surface adhesion was critically reduced by several of these substitutions, emphasizing the relevance of analysis by flow cytometry. The contributions of positively charged residues located in CCP4 were all minor when analyzed by heparin affinity chromatography. However, the mutation of CCP4 residues Arg1459 and Lys1460 to Ala almost abrogated cell surface adhesion. Furthermore, when acidic residues of the homologous proteinase PAPP-A2 (Asp1547, Glu1555 and Glu1567) were introduced into the corresponding positions in the sequence of PAPP-A, located in each of the three basic clusters of CCP3, binding to heparin was strongly impaired and cell surface binding was abrogated. This explains, at least in part, why PAPP-A2 lacks the ability of cell surface adhesion, and further emphasizes the role of the basic clusters defined in PAPP-A.     

Secretion of DNA synthesis factor (DSF) by A431 cells that can grow in protein-free medium

A431 cells grew in protein-free Coon's modified Ham's F12 medium at a similar rate to that in medium supplemented with calf serum and secreted a growth factor capable of stimulating DNA synthesis in BALB/c3T3 cells. This factor had strong affinity for heparin and was partially purified from the conditioned medium by heparin-Sepharose affinity chromatography and molecular sieving on Bio-Gel P-60. The apparent molecular weight of the factor was 20-30K. Its activity was inhibited by heparin at concentrations of above 0.03 microgram/ml.     

Interaction of pregnancy-associated plasma protein-A (PAPP-A) with coagulation: a bioassay for PAPP-A

The observation that pregnancy-associated plasma protein A (PAPP-A) concentrations are higher in plasma compared to serum obtained from the same patient, together with fact that PAPP-A binds to heparin, prompted us to study the interaction between PAPP-A and the clotting system. It was determined that pure PAPP-A inhibits thrombin-induced coagulation of citrated plasma. The presence of antithrombin III (AT III) was necessary since PAPP-A had no inhibitory effect on coagulation of AT III-depleted plasma. The effect of PAPP-A is thus similar to that of heparin. This property of PAPP-A was used to develop a bioassay. Thrombin-induced polymerization of purified fibrinogen was measured in a spectrophotometer. AT III is a weak inhibitor of polymerization, but its effect is magnified in the presence of PAPP-A or heparin. The residual thrombin activity, when plotted against the concentration of PAPP-A, gives a linear relationship. The assay conditions developed allow maximal sensitivity and reproducibility. The kinetics of inhibition due to PAPP-A and heparin was first order. With this bioassay, activities of PAPP-A molecules isolated by the same technique from different fetomaternal compartments were compared.     

Role of lysine 173 in heparin binding to heparin cofactor II

Heparin cofactor II (HC) is a plasma serine proteinase inhibitor (serpin) that inhibits alpha-thrombin in a reaction that is dramatically enhanced by heparin and other glycosaminoglycans/polyanions. We investigated the glycosaminoglycan binding site in HC by: (i) chemical modification with pyridoxal 5'-phosphate (PLP) in the absence and presence of heparin and dermatan sulfate; (ii) molecular modeling; and (iii) site-directed oligonucleotide mutagenesis. Four lysyl residues (173, 252, 343, and 348) were protected from modification by heparin and to a lesser extent by dermatan sulfate. Heparin-protected PLPHC retained both heparin cofactor and dermatan sulfate cofactor activity while dermatan sulfate-protected PLPHC retained some dermatan sulfate cofactor activity and little heparin cofactor activity. Molecular modeling studies revealed that Lys173 and Lys252 are within a region previously shown to contain residues involved in glycosaminoglycan binding. Lys343 and Lys348 are distant from this region, but protection by heparin and dermatan sulfate might result from a conformational change following glycosaminoglycan binding to the inhibitor. Site-directed mutagenesis of Lys173 and Lys343 was performed to further dissect the role of these two regions during HC-heparin and HC-dermatan sulfate interactions. The Lys343----Asn or Thr mutants had normal or only slightly reduced heparin or dermatan sulfate cofactor activity and eluted from heparin-Sepharose at the same ionic strength as native recombinant HC. However, the Lys173----Gln or Leu mutants had greatly reduced heparin cofactor activity and eluted from heparin-Sepharose at a significantly lower ionic strength than native recombinant HC but retained normal dermatan sulfate cofactor activity. Our results demonstrate that Lys173 is involved in the interaction of HC with heparin but not with dermatan sulfate, whereas Lys343 is not critical for HC binding to either glycosaminoglycan. These data provide further evidence for the determinants required for glycosaminoglycan binding to HC.     

Preparation of a Homogenous and Stable form of Bovine Milk Lipoprotein Lipase

Abstract

Lipoprotein lipase was purified to homogeneity from bovine skim milk by a two-step procedure using chromatography on heparin-Sepharose. As determined by gradient-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis in sodium dodecyl sulfate, purified lipoprotein lipase showed a single band with an apparent molecular weight of 55,000. The use of Triton N-101 in the washing buffers was the major improvement from previously reported purification procedures that resulted in a stable homogeneous preparation of the enzyme.     

A method for purifying the platelet membrane glycoprotein IIb-IIIa complex

A method has been developed for the rapid isolation of platelet membrane glycoproteins (GP) IIb and IIIa. This method produces an excellent yield and does not require the prior isolation of platelet membranes. Outdated platelets were washed and solubilized in Triton X-100. Concanavalin A affinity chromatography was used to purify a platelet glycoprotein fraction. The concanavalin A-retained glycoproteins were eluted and adsorbed with a heparin-Sepharose column to remove a major contaminant, thrombospondin. Sephacryl S-300 gel filtration was used as the final purification step to remove most fibrinogen and low-molecular-weight contaminants. Wheat germ agglutinin affinity chromatography was used to completely remove trace amounts of fibrinogen. The purified GP IIb and GP IIIa were analyzed by sucrose gradient sedimentation and found to consist of heterodimer complexes.     

Removal of endotoxin by reverse phase HPLC abolishes anti-endothelial cell activity of bacterially expressed plasminogen kringle 5

The success of recombinant protein expression/purification in Escherichia coli depends on a high-fidelity system rendering purified proteins free of confounding contaminants such as endotoxin. Here we report on the expression and purification of a cryptic plasminogen-derived domain, kringle 5, which was previously reported to specifically inhibit endothelial cell growth and, therefore, angiogenesis. Using a histidine (HIS)-tag expression and Ni(+)-NTA agarose purification system identical to previous reports, we found that our purified recombinant kringle 5 did inhibit endothelial cell growth, but this activity could not be eradicated by heat denaturing or proteolysis of kringle 5 with various proteases. This led us to suspect the presence of a contaminant in the purified samples. Quantitative endotoxin testing using a limulus amoebocyte lysate assay revealed that all samples purified by Ni(+)-NTA agarose alone harbored high concentrations of endotoxin that could not be removed by additional purification on anion exchange chromatography. Finally, when kringle 5 was rendered endotoxin-free by purification on reverse phase high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC), there was a complete loss of endothelial cell growth inhibitory activity. These results strongly suggest that endotoxin-free recombinant kringle 5 may not possess anti-angiogenic activity and demonstrates that, especially in angiogenesis type assays, endotoxin contamination can lead to a misinterpretation of results.     

Interaction of lipoprotein lipase with heparin–Sepharose. Evaluation of conditions for affinity binding

Lipoprotein lipases from a variety of sources have been shown previously to bind to heparin and some related polysaccharides. For the present studies lipoprotein lipase purified from bovine milk was used. 1. In batch experiments binding of the enzyme activity to heparin-Sepharose occurred relatively slowly, so that 30min was required for the system to come to near-equilibrium. In contrast, release of the enzyme activity from heparin-Sepharose by addition of salt to the liquid phase occurred rapidly. 2. Some binding was observed also with unsubstituted Sepharose, but this binding had a low capacity compared with that observed with heparin-Sepharose. High salt concentrations, heparin or deoxycholate decreased the binding to unsubstituted Sepharose. These factors also increase the solubility of the enzyme, which is low. 3. Addition of heparin to the liquid phase caused a concentration-dependent release of enzyme activity from the gel. These results suggested that the binding of the enzyme to heparin-Sepharose was mainly through interaction with heparin. 4. The enzyme activity was also quantitatively displaced to the liquid phase at increased concentrations of salt. Among the positive ions tested the following order of effectiveness was noted: Cs(+) approximately K(+)>Na(+)>Li(+); and among the negative the following: SCN(-)>I(-)> NO(3) (-)>Br(-) approximately Cl(-). The differences were quite large. Thus addition of 0.16m-KSCN (in addition to the 0.32m-NaCl originally present) displaced one-half of the enzyme activity to the supernatant, whereas 0.8m-LiCl only displaced one-quarter. 5. The distribution of heparin in the gel also profoundly influenced the binding. Two series of gels were studied. One series was made by mixing heparin-Sepharose with unsubstituted Sepharose. Results obtained with these gels were those expected from a series of decreasing volumes of heparin-Sepharose. In contrast, a series of heparin-Sepharoses made with different degrees of substitution gave quite different results. With these gels the amount of enzyme activity bound per amount of heparin increased markedly, whereas the salt concentration needed to displace the enzyme activity from the gel decreased markedly with decreased concentration of heparin in the gel. 6. On stepwise elution of small columns of heparin-Sepharose the enzyme activity was eluted over a remarkably wide range of salt concentrations. When enzyme eluted at one salt concentration was re-applied, it gave the same elution profile as enzyme previously eluted at other salt concentrations or the entire enzyme preparation. These and other results suggested that, whereas the enzyme preparation was rather homogeneous in its binding to heparin, the heparin preparation was polydisperse in binding of lipoprotein lipase.     

Endothelial cell mitogens derived from retina and hypothalamus: biochemical and biological similarities

Bovine retina and hypothalamus contain anionic endothelial cell mitogens that display unusual affinities for the negatively charged glycosaminoglycan heparin. Both growth factor activities are acidic polypeptides (pl's of 5.0) as determined by isoelectric focusing and DEAE-affinity chromatography. In spite of their anionic nature, the factors bound to heparin-Sepharose columns with high affinity and could be eluted only at high salt concentrations (0.9-1.1 M NaCl). The affinity of the retina-derived growth factor (RDGF) for heparin permitted a 15,000-fold purification of the mitogen in two steps: heparin-affinity chromatography and size exclusion high-performance liquid chromatography. RDGF and the anionic hypothalamus-derived factor (aHDGF) exhibit three major biochemical similarities including isoelectric point, (pl's of 5.0), heparin affinity (elution at 0.9-1.1 M NaCl) and molecular weight (18,000). Additionally, the two factors display similar biological activities, stimulating the proliferation of capillary and human umbilical vein endothelial and 3T3 cells but not vascular smooth muscle cells. We suggest that RDGF and aHDGF are related if not identical growth factor molecules.     

Heparin inhibits the activity of protein phosphatase-1

Heparin inhibited the dephosphorylation of rabbit skeletal muscle or liver phosphorylase a by protein phosphatase-1. Other glycosaminoglycans (chondroitin sulfates) and their constituents were found to be without effect. The chromatography of a partially purified phosphatase preparation on heparin-Sepharose CL-6B resulted in a fraction that did not bind to the matrix and its activity was not inhibited by heparin or inhibitor-1. The phosphatase bound to heparin-Sepharose was eluted by 0.2 M NaCl and was inhibited by heparin or inhibitor-1.