We have used a combined approach of NMR spectroscopy and isothermal titration calorimetry (ITC) to determine the ligand-binding mechanism employed by a cocaine-binding aptamer. We found that the length of the stem containing the 3' and 5' termini determines the nature of the binding mechanism. When this stem is six base pairs long, the secondary structure of the aptamer is fully folded in the free form and only putative tertiary interactions form with ligand binding. If this stem is shortened by three base pairs, the free form of the aptamer contains little secondary structure, and ligand binding triggers secondary structure formation and folding. This binding mechanism is supported by both NMR spectral changes and the ITC measured heat capacity of binding (ΔC(p)°). For the aptamer with the long stem the ΔC(p)° value is -557 ± 29 cal mol(-1) K(-1) and for the aptamer with the short stem the ΔC(p)° value is -922 ± 51 cal mol(-1) K(-1). Chemical shift perturbation data and the observation of intermolecular NOEs indicate that the three-way junction is the site of ligand binding.

Platelets are central mediators of thrombosis and hemostasis. At the site of vascular injury, platelet accumulation (i.e. adhesion and aggregation) constitutes the first wave of hemostasis. Blood coagulation, initiated by the coagulation cascades, is the second wave of thrombin generation and enhance phosphatidylserine exposure, can markedly potentiate cell-based thrombin generation and enhance blood coagulation. Recently, deposition of plasma fibronectin and other proteins onto the injured vessel wall has been identified as a new “protein wave of hemostasis” that occurs prior to platelet accumulation (i.e. the classical first wave of hemostasis). These three waves of hemostasis, in the event of atherosclerotic plaque rupture, may turn pathogenic, and cause uncontrolled vessel occlusion and thrombotic disorders (e.g. heart attack and stroke). Current anti-platelet therapies have significantly reduced cardiovascular mortality, however, on-treatment thrombotic events, thrombocytopenia, and bleeding complications are still major concerns that continue to motivate innovation and drive therapeutic advances. Emerging evidence has brought platelet adhesion molecules back into the spotlight as targets for the development of novel anti-thrombotic agents. These potential antiplatelet targets mainly include the platelet receptors glycoprotein (GP) Ib-IX-V complex, β3 integrins (αIIb subunit and PSI domain of β3 subunit) and GPVI. Numerous efforts have been made aiming to balance the efficacy of inhibiting thrombosis without compromising hemostasis. This mini-review will update the mechanisms of thrombosis and the current state of antiplatelet therapies, and will focus on platelet adhesion molecules and the novel anti-thrombotic therapies that target them.

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Platelet αIIbβ3 integrin and its ligands are essential for thrombosis and hemostasis, and play key roles in myocardial infarction and stroke. Here we show that apolipoprotein A-IV (apoA-IV) can be isolated from human blood plasma using platelet β3 integrin-coated beads. Binding of apoA-IV to platelets requires activation of αIIbβ3 integrin, and the direct apoA-IV-αIIbβ3 interaction can be detected using a single-molecule Biomembrane Force Probe. We identify that aspartic acids 5 and 13 at the N-terminus of apoA-IV are required for binding to αIIbβ3 integrin, which is additionally modulated by apoA-IV C-terminus via intra-molecular interactions. ApoA-IV inhibits platelet aggregation and postprandial platelet hyperactivity. Human apoA-IV plasma levels show a circadian rhythm that negatively correlates with platelet aggregation and cardiovascular events. Thus, we identify apoA-IV as a novel ligand of αIIbβ3 integrin and an endogenous inhibitor of thrombosis, establishing a link between lipoprotein metabolism and cardiovascular diseases.

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Thrombopoietin (TPO), a hematopoietic growth factor produced predominantly by the liver, is essential for thrombopoiesis. Prevailing theory posits that circulating TPO levels are maintained through its clearance by platelets and megakaryocytes via surface c-Mpl receptor internalization. Interestingly, we found a two- to threefold decrease in circulating TPO in GPIbα mice compared with wild-type (WT) controls, which was consistent in GPIbα-deficient human Bernard-Soulier syndrome (BSS) patients. We showed that lower TPO levels in GPIbα-deficient conditions were not due to increased TPO clearance by GPIbα platelets but rather to decreased hepatic TPO mRNA transcription and production. We found that WT, but not GPIbα, platelet transfusions rescued hepatic TPO mRNA and circulating TPO levels in GPIbα mice. In vitro hepatocyte cocultures with platelets or GPIbα-coupled beads further confirm the disruption of platelet-mediated hepatic TPO generation in the absence of GPIbα. Treatment of GPIbα platelets with neuraminidase caused significant desialylation; however, strikingly, desialylated GPIbα platelets could not rescue impaired hepatic TPO production in vivo or in vitro, suggesting that GPIbα, independent of platelet desialylation, is a prerequisite for hepatic TPO generation. Additionally, impaired hepatic TPO production was recapitulated in interleukin-4/GPIbα-transgenic mice, as well as with antibodies targeting the extracellular portion of GPIbα, demonstrating that the N terminus of GPIbα is required for platelet-mediated hepatic TPO generation. These findings reveal a novel nonredundant regulatory role for platelets in hepatic TPO homeostasis, which improves our understanding of constitutive TPO regulation and has important implications in diseases related to GPIbα, such as BSS and auto- and alloimmune-mediated thrombocytopenias.

Understanding how aptamer structure and function are related is crucial in the design and development of aptamer-based biosensors. We have analyzed a series of cocaine-binding aptamers with different lengths of their stem 1 in order to understand the role that this stem plays in the ligand-induced structure-switching binding mechanism utilized in many of the sensor applications of this aptamer. In the cocaine-binding aptamer, the length of stem 1 controls whether the structure-switching binding mechanism for this aptamer occurs or not. We varied the length of stem 1 from being one to seven base pairs long and found that the structural transition from unfolded to folded in the unbound aptamer is when the aptamer elongates from 3 to 4 base pairs in stem 1. We then used this knowledge to achieve new binding selectivity of this aptamer for quinine over cocaine by using an aptamer with a stem 1 two base pairs long. This selectivity is achieved by means of the greater affinity quinine has for the aptamer compared with cocaine. Quinine provides enough free energy to both fold and bind the 2-base pair-long aptamer while cocaine does not. This tuning of binding selectivity of an aptamer by reducing its stability is likely a general mechanism that could be used to tune aptamer specificity for tighter binding ligands.

Multisite ligand binding by proteins is commonly utilized in the regulation of biological systems and exploited in a range of biochemical technologies. Aptamers, although widely utilized in many rationally designed biochemical systems, are rarely capable of multisite ligand binding. The cocaine-binding aptamer is often used for studying and developing sensor and aptamer-based technologies. Here, we use isothermal titration calorimetry (ITC) and NMR spectroscopy to demonstrate that the cocaine-binding aptamer switches from one-site to two-site ligand binding, dependent on NaCl concentration. The high-affinity site functions at all buffer conditions studied, the low-affinity site only at low NaCl concentrations. ITC experiments show the two ligand-binding sites operate independently of one another with different affinities and enthalpies. NMR spectroscopy shows the second binding site is located in stem 2 near the three-way junction. This ability to control ligand binding at the second site by adjusting the concentration of NaCl is rare among aptamers and may prove a useful in biotechnology applications. This work also demonstrates that in vitro selected biomolecules can have functions as complex as those found in nature.