Summary
The myeloperoxidase-H2O2-chloride system (MPOS) is exploited by white blood cells to generate reactive oxygen
species in many processes involved in the pathogenesis of inflammation and atherothrombosis.
This study investigated the biochemical and functional effects of α-thrombin oxidation
by MPOS. This system, in the presence of 100 µM L-tyrosine, caused in the thrombin
molecule loss of tryptophan and lysine residues and formation of dityrosine, chloramine
and carbonyl groups. The same changes could be directly induced by thrombin incubation
with reagent HOCl, but not with H2O2 alone. Exposure to either MPOS or HOCl caused major functional abnormalities in human
α-thrombin. The interaction of oxidized (ox-)thrombin with Protein C and antithrombin
III-heparin complex were most sensitive to oxidation, being the kcat/Km value for Protein C hydrolysis roughly reduced 13-fold and the affinity for the antithrombin
III-heparin complex decreased approximately 15-fold. Ox-thrombin interaction with
small synthetic peptides showed several changes, arising from a perturbation of the
S2-S3 specificity of the enzyme. Ox-thrombin was also characterized by a 5-fold decrease
of the kcat/Km value for both fibrinopeptide A and B release from fibrinogen, a 5.8-fold increase
of the EC50 value for platelet activation and a 2-fold decrease of binding affinity for thrombomodulin.
The above results indicate a high sensitivity of thrombin to oxidative modifications
by myeloperoxidase. Perturbed interactions with Protein C and the heparin-ATIII complex
were the most relevant functional abnormalities of ox-thrombin.
Abbreviations: DNPH: 2,4-dinitrophenylhydrazine; FpA: fibrinopeptide A; FpB: fibrinopeptide B;
FRS: Fibrinogen recognition Site; GpIb: Glycoprotein Ib; HBS: Heparin Binding Site;
MPO: myeloperoxidase; MPOS: Myeloperoxidase System; Pip: Pipecolynic acid; PMN: polymorphonuclear
cells; pNA: para-nitroaniline; PPACK: Phenylalanine-Proline-Arginine-Chloromethyl-Ketone;
TM: Thrombomodulin; TNB: 5-thio-2-nitrobenzoic acid; TPCK: N-tosyl-L-Phenylalanine-Chloromethyl-Ketone.
Thrombin residues are numbered according to the chymotrypsin numbering system (31).
Key words
Thrombin - myeloperoxidase - protein oxidation