The crystal structure of the catalytic domain of human urokinase-type plasminogen activator.

BACKGROUND: Urokinase-type plasminogen activator (u-PA) promotes fibrinolysis by catalyzing the conversion of plasminogen to the active protease plasmin via the cleavage of a peptide bond. When localized to the external cell surface it contributes to tissue remodelling and cellular migration; inhibition of its activity impedes the spread of cancer. u-PA has three domains: an N-terminal receptor-binding growth factor domain, a central kringle domain and a C-terminal catalytic protease domain. The biological roles of the fibrinolytic enzymes render them therapeutic targets, however, until now no structure of the protease domain has been available. Solution of the structure of the u-PA serine protease was undertaken to provide such data. RESULTS: The crystal structure of the catalytic domain of recombinant, non-glycosylated human u-PA, complexed with the inhibitor Glu-Gly-Arg chloromethyl ketone (EGRcmk), has been determined at a nominal resolution of 2.5 A and refined to a crystallographic R-factor of 22.4% on all data (20.4% on data > 3 sigma). The enzyme has the expected topology of a trypsin-like serine protease. CONCLUSIONS: The enzyme has an S1 specificity pocket similar to that of trypsin, a restricted, less accessible, hydrophobic S2 pocket and a solvent-accessible S3 pocket which is capable of accommodating a wide range of residues. The EGRcmk inhibitor binds covalently at the active site to form a tetrahedral hemiketal structure. Although the overall structure is similar to that of homologous serine proteases, at six positions insertions of extra residues in loop regions create unique surface areas. One of these loop regions is highly mobile despite being anchored by the disulphide bridge which is characteristic of a small subset of serine proteases namely tissuetype plasminogen activator, Factor XII and Complement Factor I.

Unfolding studies of the protease domain of urokinase-type plasminogen activator: the existence of partly folded states and stable subdomains.

The domain structure and the stability against thermal and chemical denaturation of urokinase-type plasminogen activator (u-PA) have been investigated by NMR spectroscopy and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC). At least five structurally autonomous regions of this three-domain protein have been found to exist. Two of these are the EGF-like and the kringle domains; the others are all within the third domain, which is a serine protease. The latter undergoes three unfolding transitions in its enzymatically active form. Reaction with a specific affinity label (L-Glu-L-Gly-L-Arg-chloromethyl ketone) to produce an inactivated protein results in a stabilization of the structure involved in two of these transitions, and an increase in cooperativity to give a domain which unfolds in two, not three, distinct steps. These are attributed to the denaturation of the two major subdomains of the protease structure. One of the subdomains has exceptional stability, being unfolded only under extreme conditions such as 75 degrees C at pH 2.5 or 4 M GuDCl at pH 4.5 and 29 degrees C. This region has been identified by isolation and characterization of a fragment (residues Ile-159 to Thr-277) obtained by limited proteolysis with thermolysin under conditions where the protease domain was partly unfolded. The NMR data are consistent with this stable region being at the N-terminus of the protein and indicate that its structure and stability are similar to those of the corresponding region of the native protein. These results support the idea that the u-PA protease domain has structural resemblance to the digestive serine proteases, but that stabilizing interactions within the structure can differ significantly between a group of homologous proteins.

NMR studies of the dynamics of the multidomain protein urokinase-type plasminogen activator.

u-PA (urokinase-type plasminogen activator or urokinase) has been studied under a variety of solution conditions by 1-D and 2-D NMR spectroscopy. Very high quality spectra could be obtained from the recombinant protein despite the high molecular mass (46 kDa) by appropriate choice of solution conditions; mildly acidic pH and low ionic strength were found to be optimal. Comparison of spectra of u-PA with spectra of the isolated kringle and protease domains, the EGF-kringle pair, and a synthetic peptide from the kringle-protease linker region, enabled sequential assignments in the u-PA spectrum to be made for kringle resonances, and domain-specific assignments for many others. Simulations of line shapes in both 1-D and 2-D spectra enabled effective correlation times for the different domains, both isolated and in the intact protein, to be determined. These have permitted a model of the u-PA dynamics to be put forward involving extensive, but not unrestricted, motion between the different domains.