Protease mitogenic response of chick embryo fibroblasts and receptor binding/processing of human alpha-thrombin.

Quiescent cultures of chick embryo fibroblasts incubated with human alpha-thrombin (14-219 pM) incorporated [methyl-3H]thymidine proportional to concentration. Inactivated forms of this protease (e.g. active-site-conjugated alpha-thrombin or its hirudin complex) had no mitogenic activity and did not compete with 124I-alpha-thrombin for binding to specific plasma membrane receptors. The noncoagulant but esterolytic active forms, gamma- and nitro-alpha-thrombins, were weakly mitogenic and correspondingly competed weakly for binding. Trypsin competed equally as well as native thrombin for binding, whereas chymotrypsin, elastase, and human urokinase competed with 80-fold less affinity. Plasma, arginine-specific proteases associated with nerve or epidermal growth factors, insulin, and insulin-like growth factors did not compete for binding. These data demonstrate that (a) functional catalytic residues of the thrombin active site are necessary for mitogenic activity and for specific binding; (b) regions adjacent to the active site, i.e. the high affinity protein recognition site, appear to enhance binding; and (c) the receptor can discriminate between other proteases and binds those which are also mitogens for the avian cells. The characteristics of 125I-alpha-thrombin binding were determined, and it was found to be (i) proportional to cell number; (ii) optimal at pH 6.8; (iii) 70-90% specific; (iv) at equilibrium after 60 min of incubation at 22-24 degrees C or 180 min at 0-4 degrees C (the rate constants for association, i.e. ka, at 22 and 4 degrees C were 18 and 1.1 x 10(7) M-1 min-1, respectively); and (v) essentially nondissociable. Nondissociable thrombin that bound during incubation at 0-4 degrees C was distributed equally between trypsin-sensitive and insensitive compartments. Thrombin associated with the former was released into the media when the cells were incubated at 0-4 degrees C with hirudin or hydroxylamine, or transferred to the insensitive compartment when incubated at 22 degrees C. Finally, confluent cultures of fibroblasts bind 2-3 x 10(4) 125I-alpha-thrombin molecules/cell with an apparent binding constant, i.e. Kd, of 0.7 nM (a true Kd could not be determined because of the irreversible nature of thrombin binding). The binding capacity per cell and the apparent Kd value increased proportionally to an increase in culture density.