Role of specific cell surface receptors in thrombin-stimulated cell division

Previous studies have shown that thrombin action at the cell surface is sufficient to bring about division of cultured fibroblast-like cells (Carney and Cunningham, 1978). This prompted the present binding experiments with ¹²⁵I-thrombin which led to the Identification of a thrombin receptor on the surface of mouse embryo cells. Scatchard plots of binding data at 4, 22 and 37°C were linear over a broad range of thrombin concentrations, indicating a single affinity class of receptors. The association constant was about 1 × 10⁹ M^?1 and there were approximately 2 × 10⁵ receptors per cell. Neither insulin, epidermal growth factor nor prothrombin competed for thrombin binding to its receptor, indicating that It was unique for thrombin. Comparisons of thrombin binding and the amount of cell division produced by various concentrations of thrombin indicated that there was a relationship between receptor occupancy and increase in cell number. Low concentrations of serum (0.1%) inhibited both the mitogenic action of thrombin and the specific binding of thrombin to its receptor. It did not, however, inhibit nonspecific association of ¹²⁵I-thrombin with the cells. Experiments showed that this inhibition by serum resulted from a masking of thrombin receptors on the cells and not from binding of thrombin by serum factors. Together these studies suggest that thrombin must bind to Its surface receptor to stimulate cell division.     

The effects of cell-released protease nexin on the measurement of thrombin binding to mouse cells

We previously showed that fibroblast-like cells release protease nexin into their growth medium. Protease nexin links to thrombin and mediates the cellular binding of thrombin via the protease nexin part of the complex to a site different from that for unlinked thrombin (1,2). To determine the effect that cell-released protease nexin had on the measurement of total cell-bound thrombin, we separately measured the cellular binding of both ¹²⁵I-thrombin and ¹²⁵I-thrombin-protease nexin complexes. Scatchard analysis of our binding data indicates that the cellular binding affinity of linked ¹²⁵I-thrombin is about 19-fold higher than that of unlinked ¹²⁵I-thrombin. We show that protease nexin acts to increase the apparent affinity of ¹²⁵I-thrombin for cellular binding sites.     

125I-thrombin binds to clustered receptors on noncoated regions of mouse embryo cell surfaces

We used electron microscope autoradiography (EMAR) to visualize the interaction of 125I-thrombin with its surface receptors on mouse embryo (ME) cells. Autoradiographic grains were spaced over the surface of cells in a periodic nonrandom pattern, indicating 125I-thrombin association with clusters of thrombin receptors. The grain spacing varied slightly from cell to cell, indicating subpopulations of cells with different numbers of thrombin receptors. The average distance between grains on ME cells after binding 125I-thrombin (125 ng/ml) at 37 degrees C was 1.65 +/- 0.49 microns. The average distance between grains on prefixed cells and cells incubated with 125I-thrombin at 4 degrees C was not significantly different from that observed at 37 degrees C. This indicates that thrombin receptors are clustered before thrombin binding and that the thrombin receptor aggregates do not redistribute into large aggregates on the surface of cells subsequent to thrombin binding. The number of grains per cluster also does not change under these three binding conditions. Thus, the number of occupied receptors in each cluster appears to be constant. On the basis of the average grain number and spacing, we estimate that each cluster is approximately 400 nm in diameter containing approximately 550 thrombin-binding sites. These receptor-clusters are not associated with specialized structures or coated regions of the membrane. Additionally, grains observed within cells were not found associated with coated vesicles. Therefore, neither the clustering patterns nor internalization of 125I-thrombin are characteristic of molecules which bind to receptors and are internalized by receptor-mediated endocytosis.     

Monoclonal antibody to the thrombin receptor stimulates DNA synthesis in combination with gamma-thrombin or phorbol myristate acetate

Studies with various thrombin derivatives have shown that initiation of cell proliferation by thrombin requires two separate types of signals: one, generated by high affinity interaction of thrombin or DIP-thrombin (alpha-thrombin inactivated at ser 205 of the B chain by diisopropylphosphofluoridate) with receptors and the other, by thrombin's enzymic activity. To further study the role of high affinity thrombin receptors in initiation, we immunized mice with whole human fibroblasts and selected antibodies that blocked the binding of 125I- thrombin to high affinity receptors on hamster fibroblasts. One of these antibodies, TR-9, inhibits from 80 to 100% of 125I-thrombin binding, exhibits an immunofluorescent pattern indistinguishable from that of thrombin bound to receptors on these cells, and selectively binds solubilized thrombin receptors. By itself, TR-9 did not initiate DNA synthesis nor did it block thrombin initiation, but TR-9 addition to cells in the presence of alpha-thrombin, gamma-thrombin (0.5 microgram/ml), or PMA stimulated thymidine incorporation up to threefold over controls. In all cases, maximal stimulation was observed at concentrations of TR-9, ranging from 1 to 4 nM corresponding to concentrations required to inhibit from 30 to 100% of 125I-thrombin binding. These results demonstrate that the binding of the monoclonal antibody to the alpha-thrombin receptor can mimic the effects of thrombin's high affinity interaction with this receptor in stimulating cell proliferation.     

Thrombin interaction with platelets. Influence of a platelet protease nexin

A fraction of the 125I-thrombin that binds to human platelets is taken into a sodium dodecyl sulfate-resistant 77 kDa complex with a platelet factor (Bennett, W. F., and Glenn, K. C. (1980) Cell 22, 621-627). Here we show that this platelet factor is in several respects similar to protease nexin I (PNI), a fibroblast thrombin inhibitor. The complexes are of the appropriate size, bind to Sepharose that has been derivatized with anti-PNI antibody, do not form when the thrombin active site has been blocked with diisopropylphosphofluoridate, and do not appear on platelets when heparin is present. However, the platelet factor does not bind urokinase, indicating that this "platelet PN" may be distinct from PNI. Following brief incubation with 125I-thrombin, platelet PN X 125I X thrombin complexes are found both associated with the platelets and free in the binding medium. 125I-Thrombin has a higher affinity for platelet PN than for platelet receptors. In 30-s binding incubations carried out with thrombin at concentrations below 0.3 nM, formation of the 77-kDa complex accounts for most of the platelet specific binding of 125I-thrombin. Subtracting this large contribution to 125I-thrombin-specific binding reveals that the reversible binding of 125I-thrombin to platelet receptors exhibits sigmoidal thrombin dose-dependence. Thrombin stimulation of platelet [14C]serotonin release exhibits similar thrombin dose dependence. These results indicate that platelets may possess a mechanism for suppressing their interaction with active thrombin at thrombin doses below 0.3 nM. It is possible that platelet PN carries out this function by capturing thrombin before thrombin binds to its signal-transmitting receptors.     

Direct linkage of EGF to its receptor: Characterization and biological relevance

A small portion of the ¹²⁵I-EGF that binds specifically to intact cells or isolated membranes from a variety of sources becomes directly and irreversibly linked to EGF receptors. This provides a simple technique for affinity labeling the EGF receptor. Membranes isolated from the human epidermoid carcinoma cell line A431, which posesses extraordinarily high numbers of EGF receptors, gave rise to three major direct linkage complexes of MW = 160,000, 145,000, and 115,000. The time course for formation of each is similar, showing that ¹²⁵I-EGF can form direct linkage complexes with several preexisting forms of the EGF receptor. The direct linkage of EGF to receptor is slow in comparison to ¹²⁵I-EGF binding, but both processes have similar susceptibilities to competition by unlabeled EGF. EGF was modified chemically with the amino site-specific reagent, N-hydroxysuccinimidyl biotin. The biotinyl-EGF had a reduced capacity to engage in direct linkage complex formation with no concomitant reduction in its ability to bind to EGF receptors. Since native and biotinyl EGF have identical abilities to stimulate the uptake of ³H-thymidine into DNA when incubated with cultured murine 3T3 cells, the direct linkage of EGF to its receptor does not appear to play an important role in EGF-stimulated mitogenesis.     

Cleavage of cell surface proteins by thrombin

This study was based on our previous findings that the mitogenic action of thrombin on cultured fibroblasts can result from interaction of thrombin with the cell surface in the absence of internalization, and that the proteolytic activity of thrombin is required for stimulation of cell division. This prompted us to look for thrombin-mediated cleavages using 2-dimensional gel electrophoresis of labeled cell surface proteins. Surface membrane components were labeled by 3 procedures: (1) proteins were labeled by lactoperoxidase-catalyzed iodination using ¹²⁵I^?; (2) galactose and galactosamine residues of glycoproteins were oxidized with galactose oxidase and reduced with ³H-NaBH₄; and (3) glycoproteins were metabolically labeled by incubating cells with ³H-fucose. Labeling with the first 2 procedures was carried out after thrombin treatment; in contrast, cells metabolically labeled with ³H-fucose were subsequently treated with thrombin to look for proteolytic cleavages. Collectively, these studies indicated that only about 5 cell surface proteins were thrombin-sensitive, consistent with the high specificity of this protease. Each of the labeling procedures revealed a thrombin-sensitive cell surface glycoprotein which was identified as fibronectin by immunoprecipitation experiments. In addition, cell surface proteins of about 140K and 55K daltons were thrombin-sensitive. However, cell surface proteins of about 45K daltons and 130K to 1 50K daltons were increased after thrombin treatment. These experiments were conducted on an established line of Chinese hamster lung cells with the eventual goal of studying thrombin-mediated cleavages of cell surface proteins in a large number of cloned populations derived from this line that are either responsive or unresponsive to the mitogenic action of thrombin. This approach should permit identification of proteolytic cleavages that are necessary for thrombin-stimulated cell division.     

Production of monoclonal antibodies against a cell surface concanavalin a binding glycoprotein

Concanavalin A-binding (Con A)-binding cell surface glycoproteins were isolated, via Con A-affinity chromatography, from Triton X-100-solubilized Chinese hamster ovary (CHO) cell plasma membranes. The Con A binding glycoproteins isolated in this manner displayed a significantly different profile on sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gels than did the Tritonsoluble surface components, which were not retarded by the Con A-Sepharose column. [¹²⁵I]-Con A overlays of the pooled column fractions displayed on sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electro-phoresis (SDS-PAGE) demonstrated that there were virtually no Con A receptors associated with the unretarded peak released by the Con A-Sepharose column, whereas the material which was bound and specifically eluted from the Con A-Sepharose column with the sugar hapten α-methyl-D-mannopyranoside contained at least 15 prominent bands which bound [¹²⁵I]-Con A. In order to produce monoclonal antibodies against various cell surface Con A receptors, Balb/c mice were immunized with the pooled Con A receptor fraction. Following immunization spleens were excised from the animals and single spleen cell suspensions were fused with mouse myeloma P3/X63-Ag8 cells. Numerous hybridoma clones were subsequently picked on the basis of their ability to secrete antibody which could bind to both live and glutaraldehyde-fixed CHO cells as well as to the Triton-soluble fraction isolated from the CHO plasma membrane fraction. Antibody from two of these clones was able to precipitate a single [¹²⁵I]-labeled CHO surface component of ～265,000 daltons.     

Hirudin,a probe to analyze the growth-promoting activity of thrombin in fibroblasts; Reevaluation of the temporal action of competence factors

Two classes of mitogens, competence and progression factors, function synergistically to reinitiate DNA synthesis of quiescent cells in culture. Competence factors, such as Platelet-Derived Growth Factor and Fibroblast Growth Factor, deliver their mitogenic signal after only brief exposure. In contrast, progression factors, including insulin and the Insulin-like Growth Factors, are required throughout the prereplicative phase. We now report that thrombin behaves as a competence factor in Chinese hamster fibroblasts. In particular, thrombin displays a persistent effect on DNA synthesis after transient exposure (3 hours). However, use of [¹²⁵I]thrombin reveals that despite removal of thrombin from culture medium following the brief exposure, a significant amount of thrombin remains associated with cells. If cell-associated thrombin is totally removed (after a 3 hour incubation) with a specific thrombin inhibitor, hirudin, subsequent mitogenic action is totally abolished. Therefore, we propose that “competence” factors must occupy their receptors for the entire G1 period (more than 8 hours) of G0-arrested cells to trigger the mitogenic response.     

Inhibitors of Urokinase and Thrombin in Cultured Neural Cells

Recent studies have suggested important roles for certain proteases and protease inhibitors in the growth and development of the CNS. In the present studies, inhibitors of urokinase or thrombin in cultured neural cells and serum-free medium from the cells were identified by screening for components that formed sodium dodecyl sulfate-stable complexes with 125I-urokinase or 125I-thrombin. Rinsed glioblastoma possessed two components that complexed 125I-urokinase. One was type 1 plasminogen activator inhibitor (PAI-1), because the 125I-urokinase-containing complexes were immunoprecipitated with anti-PAI-1 antibodies. The other component formed complexes with 125I-urokinase that were not recognized by antibodies to PAI-1 or protease nexin-1 (PN-1). Its identity is unknown. In addition to these cell-bound components, the glioblastoma cells also secreted two inhibitors that formed complexes with 125I-urokinase; one was PAI-1, and the other was PN-1. The secreted PN-1 also formed complexes with 125I-thrombin. It was the only thrombin inhibitor detected in these studies. Human neuroblastoma cells did not contain components that formed detectable complexes with either 125I-urokinase or 125I-thrombin. However, human neuroblastoma cells did contain very low levels of PN-1 mRNA and PN-1 protein. Added PN-1 bound to the surface of both glioblastoma and neuroblastoma cells. This interaction accelerated the inhibition of thrombin by PN-1 and blocked the ability of PN-1 to form complexes with 125I-urokinase. Thus, cell-bound PN-1 was a specific thrombin inhibitor.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)     

The turnover of thrombin-thrombomodulin complex in cultured human umbilical vein endothelial cells and A549 lung cancer cells. Endocytosis and degradation of thrombin

We have prepared a monoclonal antibody directed against human thrombomodulin. We used the antibody to measure thrombomodulin molecules in cultured human endothelial cells from umbilical vein and in a human lung cancer cell line (A549). Endothelial cells contain approximately 30,000-55,000 molecules of thrombomodulin/cell while the A549 cell has about 1/4 of this number. About 50-60% of thrombin binding sites on endothelial cells are thrombomodulin, while about 90% of thrombin binding sites on A549 cells are thrombomodulin. Exposure of these cells to thrombin decreased thrombomodulin on the cell surface suggesting that internalization of thrombin-thrombomodulin occurred. The internalized 125I-thrombin was degraded in the cells and thrombomodulin reappeared on the cell surface after 30 min, suggesting the recycling of thrombomodulin. The rate of protein C activation correlated with the presence of the thrombin-thrombomodulin complex on the cell surface. The binding of thrombin to cell-surface thrombomodulin accelerates protein C activation; the subsequent internalization of the thrombin-thrombomodulin complex is associated with cessation of protein C activation. Therefore, endocytosis of thrombin-thrombomodulin may serve to control protein C activation. The uptake and degradation of thrombin bound to thrombomodulin may provide a mechanism for clearance of thrombin from the circulation.     

Immunological Detection of Isoforms of the Somatostatin Receptor Subtype, SSTR2

Abstract: Somatostatin (SRIF) induces its diverse physiological actions through interactions with different receptor subtypes. Multiple SRIF receptor subtypes have recently been cloned. To analyze the physical properties of receptor subtype SSTR2, two different peptide-directed antibodies were generated against SSTR2. Antibody “2e3,” directed against the peptide SSCTINWPGESGAWYT (residues 191–206), corresponding to a region in the predicted third extracellular domain of mouse SSTR2, and antibody “2i4,” directed against the peptide SGTEDGERSDS (residues 333–343) from the predicted cytoplasmic tail of mouse SSTR2, were developed. In Chinese hamster ovary (CHO) cells stably expressing the mouse SSTR2 gene (CHOB), the antibody 2e3 recognized specifically a protein of 93-kDa protein by immunoblotting. No specific immunoreactivity was detected by 2e3 in nontransfected CHO cells or CHO cells stably expressing vector alone or human SSTR1 or mouse SSTR3 genes. The antibody 2i4 specifically immunoprecipitated SSTR2 solubilized from CHOB cells that could be labeled with the SSTR2-specific ligand ¹²⁵I-MK-678. Furthermore, both 2e3 and 2i4 specifically immunoprecipitated 93-kDa [³⁵S]methionine-labeled proteins from CHOB cells, indicating that they recognize the same proteins. In contrast to studies in CHOB cells, immunoblotting studies showed that 2e3 detected specifically a single 148-kDa protein from different regions of the rat brain that have previously been shown to express high levels of SSTR2 mRNA and SRIF receptors with high affinity for ¹²⁵I-MK-678. In contrast, no immunoreactivity was detected in rat kidney, liver, or lung, which do not express SSTR2. No 93-kDa protein was detected specifically in the rat brain. The 148-kDa protein detected by 2e3 is an SRIF receptor because 2e3 and 2i4 specifically immunoprecipitated solubilized rat brain SRIF receptors that could be reversibly labeled with ¹²⁵I-MK-678. As in rat brain, 2e3 interacted specifically with a single 148-kDa protein in rat pituitary, in the rat pancreatic cell line AR42J, and in the HEK 293 cell line derived from human kidney, all of which express SSTR2 mRNA and SRIF receptors with high affinity for ¹²⁵I-MK-678. These findings indicate that rat brain and pituitary, as well as a pancreatic and a kidney cell line, express primarily a form of SSTR2 different from CHOB cells. The multiple forms of SSTR2 may result from differential post-translational processing of SSTR2 because 2e3 immunoprecipitated 41-kDa in vitro translation products generated from mRNA extracted from CHOB and AR42J cells. This 41-kDa protein has the predicted size of unprocessed SSTR2. These results demonstrate that 2e3 and 2i4 antibodies interact specifically with SSTR2. Detection of two different size proteins by the SSTR2 peptide-directed antibodies suggests the existence of multiple forms of SSTR2.     

Covalent binding of thrombin to specific sites on corneal endothelial cells

Binding of 125I-labeled human alpha-thrombin to endothelial cells derived from bovine corneas was studied in tissue culture. Specific and saturable binding to the cell surface occurred at 37 degrees C but to a much smaller extent at 4 degrees C. Binding of [125I]thrombin to a specific site on these cells with formation of a 77000-dalton complex was demonstrated by NaDodSO4 (sodium dodecyl sulfate)-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. Binding of [125I]thrombin was blocked by a 100-fold excess of unlabeled alpha-thrombin and by the thrombin inhibitor, hirudin. There are approximately 100000 of these thrombin binding sites on the cell surface. Formation of the complex could be detected as early as 15 s, increased rapidly over the next 20-30 min, and then continued at a slower rate for the next 2.5 h. The catalytically active site of the enzyme was required for formation of the NaDodSO4-stable complex as shown by the inability of diisopropyl phosphorofluoride inactivated thrombin to form stable complexes with these cells. The complex was dissociated in NaDodSO4 with 1.0 M hydroxylamine, suggesting an acyl linkage of the enzyme to the cellular binding site. The thrombin-endothelial cell complex was distinct from the thrombin-antithrombin III complex (Mr approximately 90000) on gel electrophoresis, and its formation was not enhanced by heparin. Additional thrombin-cell complexes (Mr less than 77000) were also identified; however, they represent a small fraction of the total thrombin bound to the cells. These observations demonstrate that alpha-thrombin is capable of reacting specifically with corneal endothelial cells to form a NaDod-SO4-stable complex which requires the catalytically active enzyme.     

Characterization of thrombin binding to alpha 2-macroglobulin

The formation and structural characteristics of the human alpha 2-macroglobulin (alpha 2M)-thrombin complex were studied by intrinsic protein fluorescence, sulfhydryl group titration, electrophoresis in denaturing and nondenaturing polyacrylamide gel systems, and in macromolecular inhibitor assays. The interaction between alpha 2M and thrombin was also assessed by comparison of sodium dodecyl sulfate-gel electrophoretic patterns of peptides produced by Staphylococcus aureus V-8 proteinase digests of denatured alpha 2M-125I-thrombin and alpha 2M-125I-trypsin complexes. In experiments measuring fluorescence changes and sulfhydryl group exposure caused by methylamine, we found that thrombin produced its maximum effects at a mole ratio of approximately 1.3:1 (thrombin:alpha 2M). Measurements of the ability of alpha 2M to bind trypsin after prior reaction with thrombin indicated that thrombin binds rapidly at one site on alpha 2M, but occupies the second site with some difficulty. Intrinsic fluorescence studies of trypsin binding to alpha 2M at pH 5.0, 6.5, and 8.0 not only revealed striking differences in trypsin's behavior over this pH range, but also some similarities between the behavior of thrombin and trypsin not heretofore recognized. Structural studies, using sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis to measure alpha 2M-125I-thrombin covalent complex formation, indicated that covalency reached a maximum at a mole ratio of approximately 1.5:1. At this ratio, only 1 mol of thrombin is bound covalently per mol of alpha 2M. These gel studies and those of proteolytic digests of denatured alpha 2M-125I-trypsin and alpha 2M-125I-thrombin complexes suggest that proteinases form covalent bonds with uncleaved alpha 2M subunits. The sum of our results is consistent with a mechanism of proteinase binding to alpha 2M in which the affinity of the proteinase for alpha 2M during an initial reversible interaction determines its binding ratio to the inhibitor.     

Binding of thrombin to normal and transformed fibroblasts depends on cell density

Binding of biologically active [¹²⁵I]thrombin to several normal and transformed human and chicken cell lines was found to depend on cell density; more [¹²⁵I]thrombin per cell was bound to sparse than to dense cultures. When normal and transformed cells were compared at equal densities the previously reported difference in [¹²⁵I]thrombin binding was not evident.     

Binding and internalization of 125I thrombin in chick embryo fibroblasts: Possible role in mitogenesis

Human α thrombin acts as a mitogen for cultures of resting chick embryo fibroblasts (CEF) in serum free medium. The use of ¹²⁵I-labeled thrombin shows that thrombin specifically binds to CEF and that after a lag of approximately 30 to 60 minutes it can not be removed by subsequent exposure to trypsin. The entry of ¹²⁵I thrombin into the trypsin-insensitive domain is not inhibited to any great extent by excess unlabelled thrombin. The cell-associated thrombin retains its native molecular weight and its catalytic activity toward synthetic amide substrates. It appears to be located in the crude nuclear fraction of homogenized CEF cells. The association of thrombin with CEF is specific, since the non-mitogenic serine protease chymotrypsin is internalized to a much lesser extent than thrombin. The data are discussed in terms of a possible intracellular site for thrombin's mitogenic action.     

Receptor-bound thrombin is not internalized through coated pits in mouse embryo cells

The localization of thrombin receptors on mouse embryo (ME) cells was examined using electron microscope (EM) immunocytological techniques. ME cells were fixed with formaldehyde, prior to thrombin binding, and thrombin visualized on cell surfaces using affinity-purified antithrombin rabbit antibody and colloidal gold labeled anti-rabbit IgG. Colloidal gold particles were found in clusters on the surface of cells incubated with thrombin. There were approximately seven particles per cluster observed in thin sections with cluster diameters ranging from 70 to 200 nm. These clusters were not observed on cells incubated without thrombin. The total number of particles present on cells incubated with and without thrombin indicate that the colloidal gold labeling is approximately 98% specific for thrombin. Only four colloidal gold particles out of approximately 1,200 were associated with coated pits. Thus the thrombin receptor clusters do not appear to associate with coated membrane regions. To determine whether receptor-bound thrombin was internalized by receptor-mediated endocytosis, ME cells were incubated with 125I-thrombin and examined using EM autoradiography and the trypsin sensitivity of 125I-thrombin which was associated with the cells. In two types of experiments, where thrombin was incubated with cells at 4 degrees C and the temperature increased to 37 degrees C and where initial incubation was at 37 degrees C, the receptor-directed specific internalization proceeded at approximately the same rate as nonspecific internalization. These studies indicate that thrombin that binds to its receptors on ME cells is not rapidly internalized by receptor-mediated endocytosis.     

Visualization of several binding sites for basic fibroblast growth factor (FGF-2) on fibroblasts by photoaffinity labeling: Evidence for intracellular complexes

The internalization of basic fibroblast growth factor (FGF-2) was studied in Chinese hamster lung fibroblasts (CCL39). Recombinant FGF-2 was derivatized with a photoactivable agent, N-hydroxysuccinimidyl-4-azido-benzoate (HSAB), iodinated, and used to visualize intracellular FGF-2-affinity-labeled molecules after internalization at 37°C. Iodinated HSAB-FGF-2 maintained the properties of natural FGF-2 such as affinity for heparin, binding to Bek and Flg receptors, interaction with high- and low-affinity binding sites, and reinitiating of DNA synthesis in CCL39 cells. Affinity-labeling experiments at 4°C with ¹²⁵I-HSAB-FGF-2 led to the detection of several FGF-cell surface complexes with apparent molecular mass of 80, 100, 125, 150, 170–180, 220, 260, and about 320 kDa by sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE), whereas two specific bands at 80 and 130–160 kDa were obtained using the homobifunctional cross-linking reagent, disuccinimidyl suberate. When the cells, preincubated with ¹²⁵I-HSAB-FGF-2 at 4°C and then washed, were shifted to 37°C, irradiation of the internalized labeled FGF-2 led to detection of a similar but fainted profile with one major specific band at 80 kDa. Heparitinase II treatment of the cells reduced binding of ¹²⁵I-HSAB-FGF-2 to its cell surface sites by 80% and internalization by 55%, indicating the involvement of heparan sulfate proteoglycans in these processes. Among the heparitinase-sensitive bands was the 80-kDa complex. © 1996 Wiley-Liss, Inc.     

Covalent binding of human thrombin to a human endothelial cell-associated protein

Binding of 125I-thrombin to endothelial cells derived from human umbilical vein was studied in tissue culture. Sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE) and autoradiography revealed covalent binding of thrombin in a 72-kDa complex. This binding is specific and requires the catalytically active site of the enzyme. Formation of the complex could be detected as early as 3 min after addition of thrombin or with a thrombin concentration as low as 0.5 nM. This irreversible binding exhibits thrombin dose-dependence and reaches maximum levels at a concentration of 50 nM (10 fmol/10(5) cells). Some characteristics of the 72-kDa complex were compared to those of the complexes formed between thrombin and protease nexin originating from fibroblasts or platelets: (i) its electrophoretic mobility on SDS-PAGE is identical to that of the thrombin-platelet protease nexin complex, (ii) heparin prevents the appearance of the complex on the cell surface, (iii) plasmin in a 100-fold molar excess prevents the covalent linkage of thrombin, suggesting that the protease specificity of the endothelial component involved in the complex might not be restricted to thrombin. Yet no release, nor any secretion of the endothelial protein, could be detected. These results indicate that active thrombin binds covalently to a specific endothelial protein that is in several respects similar to fibroblast or platelet protease nexin and provides a thrombin binding site distinct from thrombomodulin and glycosaminoglycans.     

Vasoactive intestinal polypeptide binds with high affinity to non-small cell lung cancer cells and elevates cyclic AMP levels

Vasoactive intestinal polypeptide (VIP) receptors were characterized on non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) cells. ¹²⁵I-VIP bound specifically to membranes derived from 6 NSCLC cell lines. Specific ¹²⁵I-VIP was time dependent and a linear function of EPLC-65H membrane concentration. ¹²⁵I-VIP bound with high (K_d=0.2 nM) and moderate (K_d=39 nM) affinity to two classes of sites. Pharmacology studies indicated that the order of peptide potency was VIP > rGHRH > PHI = helodermin > secretin > glucagon. Also VIP elevated the cAMP levels 10-fold using cell line ADLC-5M2. These data indicate that functional VIP receptors are present on NSCLC cells.