Correlation between progressive adsorption of plasminogen to blood clots and their sensitivity to lysis

The binding of plasminogen to preformed human plasma clots immersed in citrated human plasma was measured and correlated with the sensitivity of these clots to lysis with recombinant tissue-type plasminogen activator (rt-PA), recombinant single-chain urokinase-type plasminogen activator (rscu-PA) or two chain urokinase-type plasminogen activator (tcu-PA, urokinase). When 0.15 ml plasma clots were compressed mechanically to about 1% of their original weight, and immersed in 0.15 ml plasma, 131I-labeled native plasminogen (Glu-plasminogen) adsorbed progressively from the plasma milieu onto the clot; binding was 3 +/- 1% (n = 10) after 1 h, 7 +/- 1% after 12 h and 12 +/- 1% after 48 h. This was associated with an increased sensitivity of the clot to lysis; 50% clot lysis in 4 h was obtained with 65 +/- 5 ng/ml (n = 3) rt-PA before and 30 +/- 5 ng/ml (n = 3) after 48 h preincubation in plasma (p less than 0.01), with corresponding values of 660 +/- 55 ng/ml (n = 3) and 280 +/- 25 ng/ml (n = 3) for rscu-PA, (p less than 0.01), and 800 +/- 85 ng/ml (n = 3) and 270 +/- 35 ng/ml (n = 3) for urokinase (p less than 0.01). Additional binding of plasminogen and increased sensitivity to lysis were reduced or abolished when the clot was preincubated in plasminogen-depleted or in t-PA-depleted plasma, or when 20 mM 6-aminohexanoic acid or 2,000 KIU/ml aprotinin were added.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)