Skip to main content
SLU publication database (SLUpub)

Research article2003Peer reviewed

Secretion of macrophage urokinase plasminogen activator is dependent on proteoglycans

Pejler G, Winberg JO, Vuong TT, Henningsson F, Uhlin-Hansen L, Kimata K, Kolset SO

Abstract

The importance of proteoglycans for secretion of proteolytic enzymes was studied in the murine macrophage cell line J774. Untreated or 4beta-phorbol 12-myristate 13-acetate (PMA)-stimulated macrophages were treated with hexyl-beta-D-thioxyloside to interfere with the attachment of glycosaminoglycan chains to their respective protein cores. Activation of the J774 macrophages with PMA resulted in increased secretion of trypsin-like serine proteinase activity. This activity was completely inhibited by plasminogen activator inhibitor 1 and by amiloride, identifying the activity as urokinase plasminogen activator (uPA). Treatment of both the unstimulated or PMA-stimulated macrophages with xyloside resulted in decreased uPA activity and Western blotting analysis revealed an almost complete absence of secreted uPA protein after xyloside treatment of either control- or PMA-treated cells. Zymography analyses with gels containing both gelatin and plasminogen confirmed these findings. The xyloside treatment did not reduce the mRNA levels for uPA, indicating that the effect was at the post-translational level. Treatment of the macrophages with xylosides did also reduce the levels of secreted matrix metalloproteinase 9. Taken together, these findings indicate a role for proteoglycans in the secretion of uPA and MMP-9

Published in

European Journal of Biochemistry
2003, Volume: 270, number: 19, pages: 3971-3980 Publisher: BLACKWELL PUBLISHING LTD

      SLU Authors

    • Pejler, Gunnar

      • Department of Molecular Biosciences, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences

    Publication identifier

    DOI: https://doi.org/10.1046/j.1432-1033.2003.03785.x

    Permanent link to this page (URI)

    https://res.slu.se/id/publ/1092