title: Alpha-Chain cross-linking in fibrin(ogen) Marburg.
abstract: The fibrinogen structural variant, Marburg (A alpha 1-460B beta gamma)2, is comprised of normal B beta and gamma chains but contains severely truncated A alpha chains that are missing approximately one half of their factor XIIIa cross-linking domain. Immunochemical studies of fibrin(ogen) Marburg were conducted to characterize the degree to which deletion of a defined A alpha-chain segment, A alpha 461-610, can affect the process of fibrin stabilization, ie, the factor XIIIa-mediated covalent interaction that occurs between alpha chains of neighboring fibrin molecules and between alpha chains and alpha 2 antiplasmin (alpha 2PI). The ability of Marburg (and control) alpha chains to serve as a substrate for factor XIIIa and undergo cross-linking was examined in an in vitro plasma clotting system. The capacity for alpha-chain cross-linking was evaluated both as the covalent incorporation of the small synthetic peptide, NQEQVSPLTLLK (which represents the first 12 amino acids of alpha 2PI and includes the factor XIIIa-sensitive glutamine residue responsible for the cross-linking of alpha 2PI to fibrin), and as the appearance of native (ie, natural), high-molecular-weight, cross-linked alpha-chain species. Antibodies specific for the (A)alpha and gamma/gamma-gamma chains of fibrin(ogen) and for the peptide and its parent protein, alpha 2PI (68 kD), were used as immunoblotting probes to visualize the various cross-linked products formed during in vitro clotting. Recalcification of Marburg plasma in the presence of increasing concentrations of peptide resulted in the formation of peptide-decorated Marburg alpha-chain monomers. Their size at the highest peptide concentration examined indicated the incorporation of a maximum of 3 to 4 mol of peptide per mole of alpha-chain. In the absence of alpha 2PI 1-12 peptide, the alpha chains of Marburg fibrin cross-linked to form oligomers and polymers, as well as heterodimers that included alpha 2PI. Both the peptide-decorated monomers and the native cross-linked alpha-chain species of Marburg fibrin were smaller than their control plasma counterparts, consistent with the truncated structure of the parent Marburg A alpha chain. Collectively, the findings indicate that, although deletion of the A alpha chain region no. 461-610 in fibrinogen Marburg prevents formation of an extensive alpha polymer network (presumably due to the absence of critical COOH-terminal lysine residues), it does not interfere with initial events in the fibrin stabilization process, namely, factor XIII binding and the ability of alpha chains to undergo limited cross-linking to one another and to alpha 2PI.
authors.affiliation: Department of Medicine, College of Physicians & Surgeons of Columbia University, New York, NY 10032, USA.
authors.forename: J H
authors.initials: JH
authors.lastname: Sobel
authors.forename: I
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Trakht
authors.forename: H Q
authors.initials: HQ
authors.lastname: Wu
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Rudchenko
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Egbring
mesh_terms: D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D001777:Blood Coagulation; D005337:Fibrin / Q000737:chemistry; D015241:Fibrinogens, Abnormal / Q000737:chemistry*; D006801:Humans; D066298:In Vitro Techniques; D008239:Lysine / Q000737:chemistry; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D008970:Molecular Weight; D010455:Peptides / Q000737:chemistry; D013329:Structure-Activity Relationship; D011503:Transglutaminases / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D015241:Fibrinogens, Abnormal; D010455:Peptides; C077397:fibrinogen Marburg; D005337:Fibrin; D011503:Transglutaminases; D008239:Lysine