Complexation of the Tissue Plasminogen Activator Protease with Benzamidine-type Inhibitors:  Interference by the Kringle 2 Module

Well-resolved high-field 1H NMR signals between −0.1 and −0.7 ppm afford convenient probes to monitor the conformational state of the tissue plasminogen activator (tPA) protease, modulated by covalent inhibitor binding or activation cleavage [Hu, C.-K., Kohnert, U., Wilhelm, O., Fischer, S., & Llinás, M. (1994) Biochemistry 33, 11760−11766]. We have investigated recombinant BM 06.022 (a domain-deletion variant mutant from Escherichia coli comprising the kringle 2 and protease modules) and protease constructs of tPA in both single-chain (sc) and two-chain (tc) forms. The two proteins were studied when confronted with the noncovalent (i.e., reversible) active site inhibitors benzamidine and a series of bisbenzamidine derivatives: 2,5-bis(4-amidinobenzylidene)cyclopentanone, 2,6-bis(4-amidinobenzylidene)cyclohexanone, 2,7-bis(4-amidinobenzylidene)cycloheptanone, and 2,8-bis(4-amidinobenzylidene)cyclooctanone. At pH* 4.6, the 1H NMR spectrum is sensitive to complexation of the protease module with the various effectors. The amplitude of the inhibitor-shifted resonances is more pronounced for the tc-protease than for the sc-protease,suggesting that access of inhibitors to the protease catalytic site is facilitated upon conversion to the tc form. The effects detected by the NMR spectrum suggest a biphasic process, involving stronger (primary) and weaker (secondary) bindings to a single protease active site. Binding to the protease module in tc-BM 06.022 essentially generates the same spectral characteristics as detected upon binding to the isolated tc-protease construct. In contrast, a negligible perturbation by the inhibitors is observed on the (sc) BM 06.022. Hence, in the intact BM 06.022 the kringle 2 is structurally coupled to the protease module thus interfering with inhibitor molecules from accessing the protease active site. These domain−domain interactions relax upon conversion to the catalytically active tc form, thus decoupling the kringle 2 from the protease module in BM 06.022 while simultaneously exposing the active site to become accessible to effectors or substrates.