The interactions of platelets with fibrinogen mediate a variety of responses including adhesion, platelet aggregation, and fibrin clot retraction. Whereas it was assumed that interactions of the platelet integrin ␣ IIb  3 with the AGDV sequence in the ␥C-domain of fibrinogen and/or RGD sites in the A␣ chains are involved in clot retraction and adhesion, recent data demonstrated that fibrinogen lacking these sites still supported clot retraction. These findings suggested that an unknown site in fibrinogen and/or other integrins participate in clot retraction. Here we have identified a sequence within ␥C that mediates binding of fibrinogen to platelets. Synthetic peptide duplicating the 365-383 sequence in ␥C, designated P3, efficiently inhibited clot retraction in a dose-dependent manner. Furthermore, P3 supported platelet adhesion and was an effective inhibitor of platelet adhesion to fibrinogen fragments. Analysis of overlapping peptides spanning P3 and mutant recombinant ␥C-domains demonstrated that the P3 activity is contained primarily within ␥370 -383. Integrins ␣ IIb  3 and ␣ 5  1 were implicated in recognition of P3, since platelet adhesion to the peptide was blocked by function-blocking monoclonal antibodies against these receptors. Direct evidence that ␣ IIb  3 and ␣ 5  1 bind P3 was obtained by selective capture of these integrins from platelet lysates using a P3 affinity matrix. Thus, these data suggest that the P3 sequence in the ␥C-domain of fibrinogen defines a previously unknown recognition specificity of ␣ IIb  3 and ␣ 5  1 and may function as a binding site for these integrins.The process of thrombus formation upon vascular injury is a complex series of events that involves platelets and plasma proteins, including fibrinogen (Fg).1 Adhesive reactions of platelets with Fg are required for platelet aggregation, which triggers subsequent formation of a blood clot composed of insoluble fibrin and captured platelets. The interactions of platelets with fibrin within platelet-rich thrombi result in clot retraction, which is visually manifested in a dramatic reduction in fibrin gel volume. The mechanism and physiological significance of platelet-mediated fibrin clot retraction remain poorly understood, but it has been suggested that contraction of fibrin clots may be required for clearance of the thrombus and also may facilitate wound healing.The primary interactions of platelets with Fg and fibrin are mediated by the platelet-specific receptor ␣ IIb  3 (glycoprotein IIbIIIa), a member of the integrin family of receptors. ␣ IIb  3 is the most abundant integrin on the platelet surface and is expressed at ϳ80,000 copies/cell (1). Numerous studies using synthetic peptides and function-blocking antibodies have demonstrated that three sites in Fg can potentially interact with ␣ IIb  3 upon platelet adhesion and aggregation (1). Because Fg consists of two identical disulfide-bonded subunits, each of which is formed by three polypeptide chains (A␣, B, and ␥), two copies of ␣ IIb  3 -binding sites m...
Several indirect plasminogen (Pg) activators are known including streptokinase and the monoclonal antibody IV-Ic, whose mechanism of activation is well studied. To characterize thermodynamically the activation of Pg by streptokinase (SK) and the monoclonal antibody (mAB) IV-Ic, the activation energies were calculated for various reaction stages. Activation energy of 7.4 kcal/mol was determined for the interaction of the chromogenic substrate S-2251 with plasmin (Pm) and activated equimolar complexes Pm-SK and Pg*SK at the steady-state reaction stage, and 18.7 kcal/mol with the complexes Pg*IV-Ic. A 2.5-fold increase in the energy of activation for the Pg*IV-Ic complex suggests a more intricate mechanism of its interaction with the substrate. At the stage of increasing active center concentrations and the formation of activated complexes Pg*SK and Pg*mAB IV-Ic, the activation energy was found to be 10.5 and 38 kcal/mol, respectively. At this reaction stage the conformational rearrangement of Pg molecule with the formation of active center is the limiting stage determining the reaction rate. Unexpectedly high energy of activation at the second stage of interaction between mAB IV-Ic and Pg suggests several simultaneous reactions and complexity of conformation rearrangement in the Pg molecule in activated complexes, thus requiring large energy expense. Formation of the active center is probably accompanied by its transition within a narrow temperature range into another conformation state with the change in activation parameters of the reaction. Quantitative evaluation of the studied reactions from the perspective of thermodynamics of the enzymatic reactions gives more comprehensive characteristics of the activation mechanism.
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