Residues energetically linked to the allosteric transition of thrombin from its anticoagulant slow form to the procoagulant fast form have been identified by site-directed mutagenesis. The energetics of recognition by the two forms of the enzyme were probed by using a synthetic chromogenic substrate, fibrinogen, and hirudin. The thrombin residues E39, W60d, E192, D221, and D222 are linked to th...

Crude or crystalline trypsin in proper concentration causes the blood or plasma of human beings, dogs, rabbits, guinea pigs, and horses to coagulate. It does not clot the fibrinogen directly, but reacts with prothrombin to form thrombin. Since trypsin thus has the same effect as the physiological system Ca plus platelets (or Ca plus tissue extracts), it is suggested as a tentative working hypot...

Atherosclerotic cardiovascular diseases are the leading causes of morbidity and mortality worldwide. We have previously shown that arachidonate 15-lipoxygenase B (ALOX15B) is highly expressed in atherosclerotic carotid plaques, and elucidation of mechanisms downstream of activated lipoxygenases may be relevant to our understanding of the genesis of atherosclerotic diseases. We examined 120 caro...

The interaction of thrombin with plasminogen activator inhibitor 1 (PAI-1) is shown to result in the simultaneous formation of both cleaved PAI-1 and a sodium dodecyl sulfate-stable thrombin-PAI-1 complex. The kinetics of this reaction can be described by a "suicide substrate" mechanism that includes a branched reaction pathway, which terminates in either the stable inhibitor-enzyme complex or ...

Rat peritoneal mast cells were shown to inactivate thrombin rapidly. The thrombin-inactivating activity was purified to homogeneity by a combination of anion-exchange chromatography and h.p.l.c. on a Superdex 75 column. The purified thrombin inactivator had an apparent molecular mass of 29 kDa and an N-terminal amino acid sequence identical to rat mast-cell protease 1 (RMCP-1). After labelling ...

IN THE FIRMAMENT OF THE BRAIN, astrocytes have in the past been considered to be primarily passive, supportive bystanders in terms of maintaining an optimal environment for the function of neuronal elements. Now, however, it is accepted that astrocytes, the most numerous cell type within the central nervous system (CNS), are key multifunctional units that are in a constant dialogue with each ot...

A difference in recognition of the adhesive glycoprotein vitronectin (also called S-protein. serum spreading factor. and epibolin) by monoclonal antibody 8E6 (Hayman EG. et al. Proc NatI Acad Sci USA 80:4003. 1 983) was investigated using a competitive enzyme-immunosorbent assay and immunoaffinity chromatography. Recognition of vitronectin in serum was approximately 50-fold greater than recogni...

Endothelial cell leakiness is regulated by mediators such as thrombin, which promotes endothelial permeability, and anti-inflammatory agents, such as angiopoietin-1. Here we define a new pathway involved in thrombin-induced permeability that involves the atypical protein kinase C isoform, PKCzeta. Chemical inhibitor studies implicated the involvement of an atypical PKC isoform in thrombin-induc...

Interleukin 1 (IL-1) is a potent mediator of inflammatory and immunologic phenomena. In addition, IL-1 may be intimately involved in the regulation of hemostasis, since interaction of IL-1 with endothelial cells has been reported to induce tissue factor activity. We demonstrate that perturbation of the endothelial cell induces augmented IL-1 release. Human umbilical vein endothelial cells pertu...

Integrins promote cell-substratum and cell-cell adhesion by acting as transmembrane linker molecules between extracellular adhesion proteins and the actin-rich cytoskeleton. The integrin a,,& (platelet glycoprotein IIb/IIIa) is essential for platelet spreading, aggregation, fibrin clot retraction, and for the transduction of extracellular signals. We examined the effect of the specific tyrosine...