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J. Biol. Chem., Vol. 282, Issue 10, 7046-7055, March 9, 2007
Dual Role of Platelet Protein Kinase C in Thrombus FormationSTIMULATION OF PRO-AGGREGATORY AND SUPPRESSION OF PROCOAGULANT ACTIVITY IN PLATELETS*![]() 1![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() 2 3
From the
Received for publication, December 12, 2006
Protein kinase C (PKC) isoforms regulate many platelet responses in a still incompletely understood manner. Here we investigated the roles of PKC in the platelet reactions implicated in thrombus formation as follows: secretion aggregate formation and coagulation-stimulating activity, using inhibitors with proven activity in plasma. In human and mouse platelets, PKC regulated aggregation by mediating secretion and contributing to IIb 3 activation. Strikingly, PKC suppressed Ca2+ signal generation and Ca2+-dependent exposure of procoagulant phosphatidylserine. Furthermore, under coagulant conditions, PKC suppressed the thrombin-generating capacity of platelets. In flowing human and mouse blood, PKC contributed to platelet adhesion and controlled secretion-dependent thrombus formation, whereas it down-regulated Ca2+ signaling and procoagulant activity. In murine platelets lacking Gq , where secretion reactions were reduced in comparison with wild type mice, PKC still positively regulated platelet aggregation and down-regulated procoagulant activity. We conclude that platelet PKC isoforms have a dual controlling role in thrombus formation as follows: (i) by mediating secretion and integrin activation required for platelet aggregation under flow, and (ii) by suppressing Ca2+-dependent phosphatidylserine exposure, and consequently thrombin generation and coagulation. This platelet signaling protein is the first one identified to balance the pro-aggregatory and procoagulant functions of thrombi.
Human platelets express at least six protein kinase C (PKC)4 isoforms, namely , I/II , ', and , which phosphorylate multiple proteins during platelet activation (Refs. 1 and 2 and references therein). In particular, the classical Ca2+-dependent PKC isoforms and I/II play important but often unclear signaling roles in platelet responses (3, 4), and still little is known of the other atypical isoforms. In 1983 it was proposed, and later confirmed, that PKC activity in synergy with Ca2+ regulates the secretion of dense and -granules following platelet stimulation with phospholipase C-stimulating agonists like collagen and thrombin (57). Secretion of ADP, fibrinogen, and other stored compounds enhances the activation process (8, 9). Phosphorylation by PKC may also contribute to the promotion of conformational changes of integrin IIb 3, required for fibrinogen binding and platelet aggregation (10, 11). This regulation is complex, because IIb 3 can also be activated in the absence of PKC (12). Furthermore, PKC and Ca2+ can synergize with another Gi-mediated pathway of IIb 3 activation (2), putatively via the G-protein exchange factor CalDAG-GEFI (13). Conversely, activated integrins themselves may stimulate PKC via outside-in signaling, to result in filopodial formation and platelet spreading (14, 15). Thus, Ca2+-dependent PKC isoforms seem to contribute to platelet aggregation in two different ways, directly via integrin phosphorylation and indirectly via secretion.
On the other hand, PKC can also have inhibitory effects on platelets. In the 1980s, it was reported that PKC inhibition reduces Ca2+ extrusion from platelets (5, 16) and increases (rather than suppresses) phospholipase C activity (17). This contrasts to the later suggestion that PKC stimulates an unidentified Ca2+ influx pathway involved in platelet activation (18). Another platelet-inhibiting effect of PKC is its ability to desensitize G-protein-coupled receptors (19). How these platelet-inhibiting effects of PKC interfere with its activating action is not understood.
During hemostasis and thrombosis, platelets have two distinct but additive functions in the formation of thrombi, aggregation and procoagulant activity. Once adhered to vascular collagen, platelets become activated via the signaling immunoreceptor, glycoprotein VI (GPVI), in interplay with the collagen receptor Here we investigate the stimulating and inhibitory properties of all PKC isoforms both in the thrombus-forming process as a whole and in distinct platelet responses, using high affinity PKC inhibitors that were proved to be effective in whole blood. The results provide the first evidence for an overall balancing function of PKC, in controlling the proportions of aggregated and procoagulant platelets.
Antibodies and MaterialsH-Phe-Pro-Arg chloromethyl ketone (PPACK) was obtained from Calbiochem, as were GF109203X (GF10, bisindolylmaleimide I), RO318220 (bisindolylmaleimide IX), RO318425 (RO31, bisindolylmaleimide X), and the non-maleimide compound Gö6976. Annexin A5 labeled with fluorescein isothiocyanate (FITC) was from Nexins Research. Fura-2 and Fluo-3 acetoxymethyl esters, Oregon Green 488-conjugated fibrinogen, and annexin A5 labeled with Alexa Fluor (AF)647 came from Molecular Probes. Bovine serum albumin (BSA), phorbol myristate acetate (PMA), and human -thrombin were from Sigma; recombinant tissue factor was from Dade; Z-Gly-Gly-Arg aminomethylcoumarin (Z-GGR-AMC) was from Bachem; fibrillar type I collagen (Horm) was from Nycomed; and collagen-related peptide was from Baylor College of Medicine. Convulxin was purified as described (31). FITC-labeled PAC1 mAb was from BD Biosciences, and labeled anti-CD62 (anti-P-selectin) mAb was from Sanquin. Anti-murine GPVI mAb JAQ1 and anti-murine IIb 3 mAb JON/A were produced and modified as described (32), and where indicated, Fab fragments were generated and used in part for fluorescein labeling (33). Other materials were obtained from sources described before (34).
AnimalsControl C57BL/6 mice of either sex were obtained from Charles River Breeding Laboratories. Gq Preparation of Platelet-rich Plasma and Washed PlateletsPRP was prepared from acetate-citrate-glucose (ACD) anticoagulated blood obtained from aspirin-free healthy volunteers or mice by differential centrifugation steps; PRP was used to prepare washed platelets. Human platelets were suspended in buffer composed of 5 mM Hepes, 136 mM NaCl, 10 mM glucose, 2.7 mM KCl, 2 mM MgCl2, and 1 mg/ml BSA (pH 7.45). Murine platelets were washed with buffer consisting of 5 mM Hepes, 136 mM NaCl, 10 mM glucose, 2.7 mM KCl, 2 mM MgCl2, 0.42 mM NaH2PO4, 1 mg/ml BSA (pH 7.45). Cells were counted and adjusted to the appropriate concentration. Platelet Aggregation and Flow CytometryPlatelet aggregation was measured by turbidometry with Chronolog aggregometers. For each sample, 300500 µlof2 x 108 platelets/ml in Hepes buffer or PRP were used. Samples were preincubated at 37 °C with vehicle (1% Me2SO), 0.120 µM RO31, 0.120 µM GF10, or 0.02520 µM Gö6976 for 10 min prior to stimulation with indicated agonists. Flow cytometry of unstirred activated and control platelets in buffer or plasma (2 x 108/ml) was performed using primary FITC-labeled antibodies, as described for human (34) and mouse (35) platelets. For flow cytometry, platelets were preincubated with various doses of RO31, GF10, or Gö6976, as described above. Measurement of PKC ActivityPKC activity of platelets in buffer, plasma, or blood was determined by measuring Ser phosphorylation of the modified PKC/cAMP-dependent protein kinase pseudo-substrate, RFARKGSLRQKNV (36), using a biotinylated mAb recognizing this phosphorylated form (Calbiochem). Washed platelets, PRP, or whole blood (normalized to 2 x 108 platelets/ml) was treated with the indicated concentrations of RO31, GF10, or Gö6976 for 10 min and then stimulated as appropriate (PMA 100 nM, convulxin 50 ng/ml, ADP 10 µM). Samples of 1 x 108 cells were centrifuged in a small volume of ice-cold phosphate-buffered saline, immediately sonicated on ice, and then further processed as indicated by the manufacturer. When required, PRP was isolated from blood prior to assaying. In control experiments, platelets treated with 20 µM RO31, GF10, or Gö6976 were stimulated with 1 µM iloprost and examined for cAMP-dependent phosphorylation of VASP (37). No influence of this treatment on the phosphorylation was detected (data not shown). Measurement of [Ca2+]iChanges in cytosolic [Ca2+]i were measured in washed suspensions of Fura-2-loaded platelets (2 x 108/ml) by ratio fluorometry, as described (38). Final suspensions did not contain aspirin; activations were carried out in the presence of 1 mM CaCl2. Control calibrations were performed when colored substances were present. Thrombus Formation on Collagen under FlowPPACK-anticoagulated human and mouse blood was used for perfusion experiments over collagen-coated coverslips, as described before (23). Blood was incubated for 15 min with the indicated inhibitors and/or fluorescent probes, placed in a syringe, and perfused over collagen at a shear rate of 1501000 s1 for 4 min. After rinsing with Hepes buffer (pH 7.45) containing 2 mM CaCl2 and 1 unit/ml heparin and fluorescently labeled annexin A5 (0.5 µg/ml), bright field phase-contrast images and nonconfocal fluorescence images of adherent platelets were recorded using a two camera system (22). A video recorder was connected to one of the cameras for recording dynamic information (stable platelet adhesion). Platelet surface coverage was analyzed with ImagePro software (Media Cybernetics) for phase-contrast images and Quanticell software (Visitech) for fluorescence images. At least 10 different microscopic fields were averaged per experiment (no image processing). To provide a measure of the proportion of procoagulant platelets independent of platelet deposition, the ratio of annexin A5-binding surface coverage to phase-contrast surface coverage was calculated and was termed procoagulant index (Pi) (22). Although the procoagulant area was slightly overestimated through fluorescent glare in the optics, Pi provided a means of distinguishing the treatments of procoagulant expression from those of platelet deposition and aggregation.
For single cell Ca2+ measurements under flow, blood was supplemented with 5% autologous Fluo-3-loaded platelets (23). Changes in fluorescence in collagen-adhered Fluo-3-loaded-platelets were obtained by high speed (5 Hz) recording of fluorescence images and off-line analysis of regions-of-interest representing single platelets. Calibration to [Ca2+]i was by pseudo-ratioing to give F/Fo values and fixed calibration values (39). For quantitative data, traces from individual cells were superimposed, so that [Ca2+]i initially increased after 3.0 s. Two-photon Laser Scanning MicroscopyFor two-photon laser scanning microscopy, coverslips with thrombi were observed with a Bio-Rad 2100 multiphoton system (40). Excitation was by a Spectra-Physics Tsunami Ti:Sapphire laser, tuned, and mode-locked at 800 nm, producing pulses of 100 fs wide (repetition rate 82 MHz). Excitation at 647 nm was by a parallel-placed red diode laser. Fluorescence was detected using appropriate wave-length filters (29). Thrombi in flow chambers, double-labeled with Oregon Green 488 fibrinogen and Alexa Fluor 647-annexin A5, were scanned at the end of perfusions. Optical sections were recorded in Kalman filtering mode; no further image processing was performed. Thrombin Generation MeasurementPRP and platelet-free plasma collected on citrate were used to measure thrombin generation using the thrombogram method (34). Briefly, normalized PRP (1.5 x 108 platelets/ml) or platelet-free plasma was preincubated with inhibitor for 15 min and then with collagen for 10 min. Samples of PRP or platelet-free plasma (4 volumes) were added to wells of a 96-well plate (Immulon 2HB; Dynex Technologies), containing 1 volume of 20 mM Hepes, 140 mM NaCl, 5 mg/ml BSA, and tissue factor (1 pM, final concentration). Coagulation was started by addition of 1 volume thrombin substrate, Z-GGR-AMC. Pre-warmed plates were inserted into a fluorescence well plate reader (Thermolab Systems) and processed at 37 °C. Fluorescence accumulation from cleaved AMC was measured, and first derivative curves of accumulation of fluorescence were generated; calibrations were performed with human thrombin (41). Statistical AnalysisDifferences between experimental groups were tested for significance with a nonparametric Mann-Whitney U test using the statistical package for social sciences (SPSS 11.0). p < 0.05 was considered to be statistically significant.
Partial Blockage of Platelet Aggregation and Integrin IIb 3 Activation by PKC InhibitionTo investigate the regulation of thrombus formation by PKC, we first tested several compounds with known selective PKC-inhibiting effects on protein phosphorylation and platelet responses. These compounds were added to platelets in the presence of plasma or in whole blood to establish their efficacy at physiological conditions. The bisindolylmaleimide derivatives, RO318425 (RO31) and GF10, interacting with the ATP-binding site of PKC, were effective in PRP at concentrations 20 µM (see below), but the related compound RO318220 had less effect in plasma (data not shown). Using soluble enzymes, it has been reported that RO31 and GF10 inhibit phosphorylation reactions of Ca2+-dependent and -independent PKC isoforms at concentrations of 1040 nM (42, 43). We tested the kinase activity in lysates of washed platelets (2 x 108 platelets/ml, 80 µM phospholipids), by measuring the Ser phosphorylation of an Ala Ser-modified PKC pseudo-substrate, RFARKGSLRQKNV (36). With RO31 or GF10 added to platelet lysate, IC50 values of pseudo-substrate phosphorylation were 0.1 and <0.2 µM, respectively. However, when added to platelets in plasma, these IC50 values increased to 3.0 and 10 µM. In PRP, 20 µM RO31 or GF10 blocked phosphorylation with 85 ± 6 and 79 ± 5%, respectively (mean ± S.E., n = 45). In both washed platelets (Fig. 1A) and platelets in plasma (not shown), RO31 and GF10 completely suppressed PMA-induced aggregation, as expected. We also tested the effects of these compounds on the aggregation induced by key agonists involved in thrombus formation. Either greatly suppressed platelet aggregation in response to the GPVI-dependent agonist, collagen, but only when added to washed platelets and not in PRP (Fig. 1A). Similar results were obtained for platelets stimulated with ADP, an agonist that acts via the G protein-coupled receptors P2Y1 and P2Y12 (data not shown). Dose-response curves of collagen-induced aggregation in buffer medium showed maximal inhibition from about 10 µM RO31 or GF10 (Fig. 1B).
Supporting experiments were performed with the non-maleimide compound, Gö6976, which has a high affinity for the classical PKC isoforms
To understand the difference in effects of PKC inhibitors on platelet aggregation in buffer and plasma, flow cytometry was used to measure integrin
Platelet PKC Activity Is Required for SecretionExpression of P-selectin at the platelet surface is a measure of secretion (exocytosis). Experiments with PRP showed that RO31 and GF10 greatly suppressed the high P-selectin expression induced by PMA or convulxin, and also the lesser P-selectin expression with ADP (Fig. 2A). Dose-response curves were generated to compare effects of the PKC inhibitors in the absence and presence of plasma. In washed platelets, the potency of these compounds to block P-selectin expression was quite similar to their anti-aggregatory activity, in the order of Gö6976 > RO31
These inhibitor studies suggested that the contribution of PKC to collagen-induced aggregation in washed platelets is mediated by (fibrinogen and/or ADP) secretion. This was confirmed by the observation that addition of 2 mg/ml fibrinogen to washed RO31-treated platelets restored the collagen-induced aggregation response to >95% of control. Accordingly, the contribution of PKC isoforms to aggregation is partly via secretion of autocrine agents.
Platelet PKC Down-regulates Ca2+ and Procoagulant ResponsesIn thrombus formation, calcium signal generation via GPVI and Gq
The function of PKC in platelet procoagulant activity was established by measuring thrombin generation in PRP, which was triggered with tissue factor and CaCl2. Under these plasma conditions, thrombin is formed at the surface of activated platelets with prolonged, high [Ca2+]i, exposing procoagulant PS (34). Both GF10 and RO31, but not Gö6976, greatly enhanced the thrombin generation process in PRP and even enhanced the collagen-evoked (GPVI-mediated) increase in thrombin generation (Fig. 4). Control experiments indicated that neither RO31 nor GF10 influenced thrombin generation, if platelet activation was inhibited with cAMP-elevating iloprost (Fig. 4B). Controls without platelets indicated that the compounds did not interfere with the coagulation process itself (not shown). Together, these results point to a clear suppressive effect of PKC on platelet Ca2+ signaling and ensuing procoagulant response. Dual Effects of PKC Inhibition on Shear-induced Thrombus FormationThe pro-aggregatory and procoagulant functions of platelets were simultaneously monitored in flow experiments, where whole blood was perfused over a collagen surface. At a moderately high shear rate of 1000 s1 (representative arterial shear rate) flow over collagen rapidly results in GPVI-dependent formation of platelet aggregates and exposure of procoagulant PS (detected with FITC-annexin A5) (33). Under this condition, pretreatment of blood with 20 µM RO31 or GF10, i.e. concentrations that substantially blocked PKC pseudo-substrate phosphorylation, reduced platelet adhesion with 3040% and nearly abolished aggregate formation (Fig. 5A). Surface area coverage of the platelets was more than halved, whereas coverage with PS-expressing platelets was significantly increased with RO31 but not with GF10 (Fig. 5B). The ratio of PS-exposing surface coverage to total surface coverage with platelets was calculated as the Pi (22). The Pi was used as a means of determining the relative procoagulant expression of the deposited platelets (see "Experimental Procedures"). The Pi increased significantly with 20 µM RO31 or GF10 from 0.19 to about 1 (Fig. 5B, lower panel), thus pointing to increased procoagulant activity. This parameter increased with the inhibitor dose, e.g. with 5 µM RO31, GF10, and also Gö6976, and the Pi was raised from 0.15 to 0.31, 0.32, or 0.42, respectively, particularly because of a reduction in platelet deposition (n = 2).
To directly compare
Partial Role of PKC in Murine Platelet Aggregation and Integrin ActivationEffects of PKC inhibition were evaluated in wild type mouse blood. With mouse PRP, it was confirmed that 20 µM RO31 treatment inhibited PMA-induced pseudo-substrate phosphorylation by 89%. Both RO31 and GF10 inhibited the aggregation of washed mouse platelets induced by PMA or collagen peptide (Fig. 7A). In the presence of plasma, only PMA-induced aggregation was abolished, whereas aggregation with other agonists was no more than delayed, i.e. similar to the human situation. Flow cytometric analysis was performed using platelets stained with fluorescent labeled JON/A mAb, which displays an increased binding to activated mouse IIb 3. Similar to RO31, GF10 antagonized PMA- and collagen peptide-induced IIb 3 activation but had only small effects on ADP- and thrombin-induced IIb 3 activation (Fig. 7B). Again, these compounds increased the procoagulant activity of mouse platelets, as apparent from a left-ward shift in thrombin generation experiments (data not shown).
Effect of PKC Inhibition on Murine Thrombus Formation in the Absence of Autacoid Gq SignalingFlow experiments over collagen were performed with blood from wild type control mice and Gq
The present results provide a first unifying concept to understand the seemingly contradictory functions of PKC isoforms in platelets. They indicate that in platelets PKC phosphorylation has a dual role in controlling collagen-induced thrombus formation. On the one hand, inhibition of PKC with RO31 or GF10 inhibits secretion and incompletely down-regulates IIb 3 activation, which results in decreased aggregate formation, under conditions when secretion is a limiting factor, i.e. in washed platelets. Importantly, inhibition of PKC with RO31 or GF10 in whole blood also abrogated thrombus formation under conditions of flow. On the other hand, PKC inhibition increases agonist (GPVI)-induced Ca2+ responses and Ca2+-dependent PS exposure with (and as a result of) increased coagulation activity, as was established in thrombin generation experiments. Accordingly, in human and murine thrombus formation, PKC activation is the first signaling pathway identified that can balance the two principal roles of platelets, i.e. aggregate formation and coagulation stimulation. Thus, PKC simultaneously increases the pro-aggregatory activity of platelets and suppresses the procoagulant properties of platelets (Fig. 9). This dual role of PKC was still apparent when most of the autocrine ADP- and thromboxane-induced thrombus formation, via P2Y1 and thromboxane A2 receptor and protease-activated receptor signaling, was suppressed in platelets lacking the Gq subunit.
The two bisindolylmaleimide inhibitors used in this paper, RO31 and GF10, were selected because of their activity on platelets in the presence of plasma or whole blood. In lysates they bind with nanomolar affinity to the classical Ca2+-dependent isoforms PKC
Various authors provide evidence that especially Ca2+-dependent PKC activity mediates
Both in human and mouse flow experiments, we found a reduced deposition on collagen with PKC-inhibited platelets, which was largely a consequence of greatly diminished aggregate formation. Close examination of the recorded video movies indicated that also the frequency of stable platelet adhesion was diminished under this condition (data not shown). This is in agreement with the earlier reported stabilizing effect of PKC on platelet adhesion to collagen, which is mechanistically still unexplained, but was found to be independent of Syk and focal adhesion kinase (30). We consider that this may be mediated by a decreased GPVI-induced IIb 3 activation in the absence of PKC, thus reducing irreversible platelet binding to von Willebrand factor that is bound to collagen. However, others have observed that activated IIb 3(e.g. by von Willebrand factor-induced GPIb signaling) in turn stimulates PKC, which points to the importance of positive feedback loops between IIb 3 and PKC (49).
Both in the absence and presence of flow, we observed that not all platelet aggregation was abolished in the absence of PKC activity. This is in agreement with optical aggregation measurements from others and clearly points to PKC-independent signaling mechanisms in the regulation of
* This work was supported in part by the Netherlands Heart Foundation Grant 2002-B014 and the Netherlands Organization for Scientific Research Grant 902-16-276. The costs of publication of this article were defrayed in part by the payment of page charges. This article must therefore be hereby marked "advertisement" in accordance with 18 U.S.C. Section 1734 solely to indicate this fact.
1 Supported by Marie Curie Fellowship QLK5-CT-2000-60007 from the European Community. 2 To whom correspondence may be addressed. E-mail: bernhard.nieswandt{at}virchow.uni-wuerzburg.de. 3 To whom correspondence may be addressed: Dept. of Biochemistry, University of Maastricht, P. O. Box 616, 6200 MD Maastricht, The Netherlands. Tel.: 31-43-3881671; Fax: 31-43-3884159; E-mail: jwm.heemskerk{at}bioch.unimaas.nl.
4 The abbreviations used are: PKC, protein kinase C; BSA, bovine serum, albumin; GF10, GF109203X; GPVI, glycoprotein VI; PMA, phorbol myristate acetate; PRP, platelet-rich plasma; RO31, RO318425; PS, phosphatidylserine; FITC, fluorescein isothiocyanate; mAb, monoclonal antibody; PPACK, H-Phe-Pro-Arg chloromethyl ketone; Z, benzyloxycarbonyl; AMC, aminomethylcoumarin; Pi, procoagulant index.
5 Collagen fibers were not used to prevent interference in the flow cytometric measurements.
We thank S. Offermanns (University of Heidelberg) for kindly providing Gq -deficient mice. We acknowledge L. Prinzen for expert experimental assistance.
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