Are cardiovascular and sympathoadrenal effects of human "new pressor protein" preparations attributable to human coagulation beta-FXIIa?

"New pressor protein" (NPP) derived from normal human plasma is an extra renal enzyme that shares strong sequence homology with human coagulation beta-FXIIa. Under our bioassay conditions, human NPP (10-20 microl plasma equivalent/ approximately 300 g rat iv) can raise the systolic blood pressure (SBP) by 40-50 mmHg, the diastolic blood pressure (DBP) by 15-20 mmHg, and the heart rate (HR) by 70-90 beats/min. Plasma epinephrine (of adrenal medullary origin) and norepinephrine rise by about 50- and 10-fold, respectively. Because beta-FXIIa is not normally associated with pressor properties, we endeavored to substantiate that the hypertensive effects of impure NPP preparations used in our experiments are attributable to their content of beta-FXIIa. We carried out comparisons with highly purified (>90%) commercial human beta-FXIIa and found that by gel filtration (Sephadex G-100 and G-75), NPP bioactivity appeared in the approximately 30-kDa elution zone, consistent with the molecular mass of beta-FXIIa. Retention time using fast-protein liquid chromatography anion exchange chromatography was identical. Molecular mass and comigration were confirmed by SDS-PAGE gel electrophoresis, and the recovered approximately 30-kDa protein bands yielded beta-FXIIa fragments identified by mass spectrometry. Matched doses of the NPP preparations produced dose-response curves very similar to those elicited by beta-FXIIa with respect to increments of SBP, DBP, and HR, whereas plasma catecholamine increments were generally comparable. We propose that beta-FXIIa is substantially, if not exclusively, responsible for the observed effects of our NPP preparations and that this points to a novel axis connecting the FXII coagulation cascade and the sympathoadrenal gland to other cardiovascular regulatory mechanisms.