title: Biochemical properties of conjugates of urokinase-type plasminogen activator with a monoclonal antibody specific for cross-linked fibrin.
abstract: Equimolar mixtures of recombinant single chain urokinase-type plasminogen activator (rscu-PA) and a murine monoclonal antibody (MA-15C5) directed against fragment-D dimer of human cross-linked fibrin were conjugated, using the cross-linking agent N-succinimidyl 3-(2-pyridyldithio)propionate (PySSProSu). The conjugate (rscu-PA/MA-15C5), purified by immunoadsorption on a urokinase antibody and affinity chromatography on fibrin fragment-D dimer with a yield of 42 +/- 15% (mean +/- SD, n = 3), contained an average of 1.2 +/- 0.3 IgG molecules/rscu-PA molecule. On non-reduced SDS/PAGE it migrated as a main band with apparent Mr of 200,000. Specific amidolytic activities expressed/mass of u-PA were less than 250 IU/mg for rscu-PA/MA-15C5 and rscu-PA, 140,000 +/- 13,000 IU/mg and 100,000 +/- 17,000 IU/mg for their plasmin-generated two chain derivatives rtcu-PA/MA-15C5 and rtcu-PA respectively. Specific activities on fibrin plates were 100,000 +/- 24,000 IU/mg and 130,000 +/- 49,000 IU/mg for rscu-PA/MA-15C5 and rtcu-PA/MA-15C5 respectively, as compared to 180,000 +/- 15,000 IU/mg for both rscu-PA and rtcu-PA. Activation of plasminogen with rscu-PA/MA-15C5 (Km = 0.37 +/- 0.16 microM, k2 = 0.0063 +/- 0.0030 s-1 or rtcu-PA/MA-15C5 (Km = 19 +/- 3.0 microM, k2 = 2.0 +/- 0.10 s-1) in purified systems followed Michaelis-Menten kinetics with Km and k2 values comparable to those of rscu-PA and rtcu-PA. In an in vitro system composed of a 125I-fibrin-labeled whole human plasma clot immersed in citrated human plasma, dose- and time-dependent lysis was obtained; 50% lysis in 2 h required 1.4 microgram/ml of rscu-PA or 0.33 microgram/ml of rtcu-PA, but only 0.22 microgram u-PA/ml of rscu-PA/MA-15C5 or 0.15 microgram u-PA/ml of rtcu-PA/MA-15C5. Addition of purified fragment-D dimer reversed the increased fibrinolytic potency of rscu-PA/MA-15C5 in a concentration-dependent way (50% inhibition at 7.2 micrograms fragment-D dimer/ml). Thus, conjugation of u-PA moieties with the fibrin-specific antibody MA-15C5 targets the plasminogen activator to the clot, resulting in a significant increase of their fibrinolytic potencies as compared to their unconjugated counterparts: 6.4-fold for rscu-PA and 2.2-fold for rtcu-PA.
authors.affiliation: Center for Thrombosis and Vascular Research, University of Leuven, Belgium.
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Dewerchin
authors.forename: H R
authors.initials: HR
authors.lastname: Lijnen
authors.forename: B
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Van Hoef
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: De Cock
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Collen
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D000911:Antibodies, Monoclonal / Q000008:administration & dosage*; D005337:Fibrin / Q000378:metabolism*; D005341:Fibrinolysin / Q000494:pharmacology; D005342:Fibrinolysis; D006801:Humans; D007700:Kinetics; D051379:Mice; D008970:Molecular Weight; D010958:Plasminogen / Q000378:metabolism; D010960:Plasminogen Activators / Q000008:administration & dosage*; D014568:Urokinase-Type Plasminogen Activator / Q000008:administration & dosage*
chemical_list: D000911:Antibodies, Monoclonal; D005337:Fibrin; D010958:Plasminogen; D010960:Plasminogen Activators; D005341:Fibrinolysin; D014568:Urokinase-Type Plasminogen Activator