Vol. 62, Issue 2, 203-209, August 2002

Fusion Proteins with Anticoagulant and Fibrinolytic Properties: Functional Studies and Structural Considerations

Christian Icke, Bernhard Schlott, Oliver Ohlenschläger, Manfred Hartmann, Karl-Heinz Gührs, and Erika Glusa

Friedrich-Schiller-Universität Jena, Zentrum für Vaskuläre Biologie und Medizin, Erfurt, Germany (C.I., E.G.); and Institut für Molekulare Biotechnologie e.V., Jena, Germany (B.S., O.O., M.H., K.-H.G.)

In an effort to combine the benefits of fibrinolytics, such as staphylokinase, with those of thrombin inhibitors for the prevention of vessel reocclusion after vascular injury, we have produced several chimeric proteins with plasminogen-activating and thrombin-inhibiting properties. Fusion proteins were constructed consisting of the modules staphylokinase (Sak), the factor Xa cleavage site, and various dipetalin (Dip) domains (H₆-Sak-Dip-I+II, H₆-Sak-Dip-I, and H₆-Sak-Dip-II). Sak stimulates fibrinolysis via activation of plasminogen, whereas dipetalin is a two-domain, Kazal-type inhibitor of thrombin. NMR spectroscopy of the fusion proteins revealed that the molecular structures of the modules are retained in the fusion protein and that no significant interactions occur between the modules in terms of their functionally relevant regions. In enzymatic thrombin inhibition tests and blood coagulation assays (thrombin, prothrombin, and activated partial thromboplastin times), no significant differences in anticoagulant capacity were observed between the fusion protein H₆-Sak-Dip-I+II and isolated Dip-I+II, even at nanomolar concentrations. Similar results (i.e., the inhibition of thrombin-induced platelet aggregation and the inhibition of thrombin-induced vascular relaxation) were obtained when the cellular thrombin effects were studied. The fusion protein containing Dip-I has less but still significant thrombin inhibitory effects compared with those of H₆-Sak-Dip-I+II. In contrast, the H₆-Sak-Dip-II protein failed to inhibit thrombin in each of the assays used. The plasminogen-activating and fibrinolytic activities of the fusion proteins are similar to those of wild-type Sak. The individual dipetalin domains do not activate plasminogen. In conclusion, the fusion protein H₆-Sak-Dip-I+II is a bifunctional molecule able to activate fibrinolysis via plasminogen activation and inhibit blood coagulation via direct inhibition of thrombin.