Cellular receptors for plasminogen and tissue plasminogen activator (t- PA) regulate plasminogen activation and cell-associated proteolytic activity. The characteristics of the interactions of both ligands with monocytes and monocytoid cell lines bear certain similarities, including affinity (kd approximately 1 mumol/L) capacity and susceptibility to carboxypeptidase treatment. Therefore, we have undertaken the present study to determine directly whether t-PA and plasminogen share common binding sites on cells. We found that recombinant human single-chain t-PA (rt-PA) could inhibit the binding of 125I-plasminogen to the cells and, conversely, plasminogen could inhibit 125I-rt-PA binding. This relationship was observed with 9 cell types, including both adherent cells and cells in suspension. In addition, under several conditions of cell treatment, plasminogen and t- PA receptor expression was modulated in parallel. Furthermore, molecules that have been implicated as candidate plasminogen receptors, gangliosides, and an alpha-enolase--related molecule, also interacted with t-PA. These results suggest that at least a component of the binding sites for plasminogen is shared with t-PA. Occupancy of these sites by either or both ligand(s) should result in arming the cells with the proteolytic activity of plasmin.
Monocytes and monocytoid cell lines previously have been shown to express receptors for plasminogen and urokinase (u-PA). In the present study, the monocytoid cell lines, U937 and THP-1, are shown to bind tissue plasminogen activator (t-PA) in a specific, saturable, and reversible manner. These cells bound t-PA with low affinity (kd = 0.67 to 0.97 mumol/L) and high capacity (0.71 to 3.3 x 10(6) receptors/cell). Human peripheral blood monocytes bound t-PA with a kd (0.9 mumol/L) similar to that of the monocytoid cells but with a lower capacity (0.17 x 10(6) sites/cell). These binding parameters also were similar to the low-affinity interaction of t-PA with endothelial cells as measured with the cells in suspension (kd = 0.73 mumol/L and 1.1 x 10(6) sites/cell). Lysine analogues and active or diisopropylfluorophosphate-inactivated u-PA inhibited t-PA binding to monocytes, monocytoid cells, and endothelial cells with similar IC50 (concentration producing 50% inhibition) values, suggesting that the same recognition specificity mediates t-PA binding to all of these cell types. The existence of a high-affinity binding site for t-PA on monocytoid cells was also explored in detail. Unlike endothelial cells where plasminogen activator inhibitor-1 has been implicated in mediating a high-affinity interaction of t-PA with the cells, no evidence for a role of this inhibitor in ligand binding to the monocytoid cells was found. Furthermore, using both high and low 125I-t- PA concentrations, competition analyses with lysine analogues or u-PA, or treatment of the cells with carboxypeptidase B, failed to indicate the presence of distinguishable classes of t-PA binding sites. In sum, low-affinity receptors for t-PA are expressed at high density on monocytes and monocytoid cells, identifying a new element in the fibrinolytic arsenal of these cells.
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