Ligand binding, conformational change and plasma elimination of human, mouse and rat alpha-macroglobulin proteinase inhibitors.

Rat alpha 1-macroglobulin (alpha 1M), rat alpha 2-macroglobulin (alpha 2M) migrated as single bands on non-denaturing gels when purified by the methods described. All three proteins demonstrated increased mobility after reaction with trypsin. A single saturable pathway rapidly cleared complexes of trypsin and the alpha-macroglobulins of mouse, rat and human from the circulation of mice. None of the native alpha-macroglobulins competed for clearance with the trypsin complexes. [14C]Methylamine incorporation was 4.1, 3.9, 2.6 and 3.2 mol/mol of proteinase inhibitor for human alpha 2M, rat alpha 1M, rat alpha 2M and mouse alpha 2M, respectively. Only rat alpha 2M, the acute-phase alpha-macroglobulin studied, showed no evidence of conformational change when subjected to electrophoresis after reaction with methylamine. The clearance of rat alpha 2M-methylamine was comparable with that of the native molecule. The other alpha-macroglobulin-methylamine complexes cleared faster than the inhibitors that had not reacted. Rat alpha 2M and rat alpha 2M-methylamine bound equivalent quantities of 1251-labelled trypsin (1.01 and 0.96 mol/mol respectively). The soya-bean trypsin inhibitor-resistant esterolytic activity of trypsin bound to rat alpha 2M-methylamine was approx. 90% suppressed compared with proteinase bound to native rat alpha 2M. This suppression was not due to a change in the affinity of soya-bean trypsin inhibitor for the complex. Reaction of rat alpha 2M-methylamine with trypsin resulted in a 'slow' to 'fast' electrophoretic conversion of the proteinase inhibitor, and exposure of the signal on the alpha 2M that causes the complex to clear from the murine circulation.

Duke Scholars

Author Salvatore Vincent Pizzo Pathology