Conversion of plasminogen activator inhibitor-1 from inhibitor to substrate by point mutations in the reactive-site loop.

Plasminogen activator inhibitor-1 (PAI-1), the main physiological inhibitor of tissue-type plasminogen activator (t-PA), may occur in three interconvertible conformations: active, latent, and substrate. To delineate specific domains in the PAI-1 molecule responsible for its conformational flexibility and associated functional diversity, four mutants of PAI-1 (with the amino acids at positions P12, P10, P8, and P6, respectively, substituted with proline) were expressed in Escherichia coli, purified, and characterized. Wild-type PAI-1 (wtPAI-1) had a specific activity of 21 +/- 10% (mean +/- S.D., n = 3) of the theoretical maximum value. PAI-1-P12 (Ala-->Pro at P12), PAI-1-P10 (Ser-->Pro at P10), and PAI-1-P8 (Thr-->Pro at P8) had specific activities of 0.06 +/- 0.03% (n = 3), 2.6 +/- 1.0% (n = 4), and 2.7 +/- 1.1% (n = 3), respectively (p < 0.03 versus wtPAI-1). PAI-1-P6 (Val-->Pro at P6) has a specific activity of 12 +/- 3.3% (n = 3) of the theoretical maximum value (p = not significant versus wtPAI-1). SDS-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis of mixtures of wtPAI-1 or PAI-1-P6 with a 2-fold molar excess of t-PA yielded a mixture of a covalent 110-kDa t-PA.PAI-1 complex (15-25%), nonreactive 45-kDa material (44-67%), and a 41-kDa band (18-31%) representing cleaved PAI-1. PAI-1-P12, PAI-1-P10, and PAI-1-P8 behaved as substrates, yielding predominantly the 41-kDa cleavage product (85-91%) and a small amount (9-15%) of non-reactive material. NH2-terminal amino acid sequencing revealed that cleavage occurred at the P1-P1' bond (Arg346-Met347). Incubation of PAI-1-P12, PAI-1-P10, or PAI-1-P8 with a 2-fold molar excess of urokinase-type plasminogen activator, plasmin, or thrombin also primarily generated a 41-kDa cleavage product (62-89%). Incubation of wtPAI-1 and PAI-1-P6 at 37 degrees C resulted in a loss of inhibitory activity, whereas the substrate behavior of PAI-1-P12, PAI-1-P10, and PAI-1-P8 remained unaltered. Treatment of the three substrate-like mutants with guanidinium Cl did not induce inhibitory activity. In conclusion, point mutations at positions P12, P10, and P8 yield PAI-1 variants with stable substrate properties, which may facilitate more detailed structure/function studies.