1. Cell Biology
  2. Structural Biology and Molecular Biophysics

Fibrinogen αC-subregions critically contribute blood clot fibre growth, mechanical stability and resistance to fibrinolysis

  1. Helen McPherson
  2. Cedric Duval
  3. Stephen R Baker
  4. Matthew S Hindle
  5. Lih T Cheah
  6. Nathan L Asquith
  7. Marco M Domingues
  8. Victoria C Ridger
  9. Simon DA Connell
  10. Khalid Naseem
  11. Helen Philippou
  12. Ramzi A Ajjan
  13. Robert Ariens  Is a corresponding author
  1. University of Leeds, United Kingdom
  2. Wake Forest University, United States
  3. Harvard Medical School, United States
  4. Universidade de Lisboa, Portugal
  5. University of Sheffield, United Kingdom
  6. University of Leeds, United States
https://doi.org/10.7554/eLife.68761
Share this article
Cite this article
  1. Helen McPherson
  2. Cedric Duval
  3. Stephen R Baker
  4. Matthew S Hindle
  5. Lih T Cheah
  6. Nathan L Asquith
  7. Marco M Domingues
  8. Victoria C Ridger
  9. Simon DA Connell
  10. Khalid Naseem
  11. Helen Philippou
  12. Ramzi A Ajjan
  13. Robert Ariens
(2021)
Fibrinogen αC-subregions critically contribute blood clot fibre growth, mechanical stability and resistance to fibrinolysis
eLife 10:e68761.
https://doi.org/10.7554/eLife.68761
  2. Download BibTeX
  3. Download .RIS

Abstract

Fibrinogen is essential for blood coagulation. The C-terminus of the fibrinogen α-chain (αC-region) is composed of an αC-domain and αC-connector. Two recombinant fibrinogen variants (α390 and α220) were produced to investigate the role of subregions in modulating clot stability and resistance to lysis. The α390 variant, truncated before the αC-domain, produced clots with a denser structure and thinner fibres. In contrast, the α220 variant, truncated at the start of the αC-connector, produced clots that were porous with short, stunted fibres and visible fibre ends. These clots were mechanically weak and susceptible to lysis. Our data demonstrate differential effects for the αC-subregions in fibrin polymerisation, clot mechanical strength, and fibrinolytic susceptibility. Furthermore, we demonstrate that the αC-subregions are key for promoting longitudinal fibre growth. Together, these findings highlight critical functions of the αC-subregions in relation to clot structure and stability, with future implications for development of novel therapeutics for thrombosis.

Data availability

The source data for Figures 1 B-F, figure 2 B and D, figure 3 B, figure 4, figure 5 B, C and D and figure 6 A-C and D-F and supplementary Figures 1 supplement 1, figures 4 supplement 1 and figures 5 supplement 1 and 2 and figures 6 supplement 1 are made available as separate source data files.

Article and author information

Author details

  1. Helen McPherson

    Discovery and Translational Science Department, Leeds Institute of Cariovasular and Metabolic Medicine, University of Leeds, Leeds, United Kingdom
    Competing interests
    The authors declare that no competing interests exist.
    ORCID icon "This ORCID iD identifies the author of this article:" 0000-0002-3519-498X

  2. Cedric Duval

    Discovery and Translational Science Department, Leeds Institute of Cariovasular and Metabolic Medicine, University of Leeds, Leeds, United Kingdom
    Competing interests
    The authors declare that no competing interests exist.

  3. Stephen R Baker

    Department of Physics, Wake Forest University, Winston Salem, United States
    Competing interests
    The authors declare that no competing interests exist.
    ORCID icon "This ORCID iD identifies the author of this article:" 0000-0002-3147-4925

  4. Matthew S Hindle

    Discovery and Translational Science Department, Leeds Institute of Cariovasular and Metabolic Medicine, University of Leeds, Leeds, United Kingdom
    Competing interests
    The authors declare that no competing interests exist.

  5. Lih T Cheah

    Discovery and Translational Science Department, Leeds Institute of Cariovasular and Metabolic Medicine, University of Leeds, Leeds, United Kingdom
    Competing interests
    The authors declare that no competing interests exist.

  6. Nathan L Asquith

    Division of Hematology, Harvard Medical School, Boston, United States
    Competing interests
    The authors declare that no competing interests exist.

  7. Marco M Domingues

    Instituto de Medicina Molecular - João Lobo Antunes, Faculdade de Medicina, Universidade de Lisboa, Lisbon, Portugal
    Competing interests
    The authors declare that no competing interests exist.

  8. Victoria C Ridger

    Department of Infection, Immunity and Cardiovascular Disease, University of Sheffield, Sheffield, United Kingdom
    Competing interests
    The authors declare that no competing interests exist.

  9. Simon DA Connell

    Molecular and Nanoscale Physics Group, University of Leeds, Leeds, United States
    Competing interests
    The authors declare that no competing interests exist.

  10. Khalid Naseem

    Discovery and Translational Science Department, University of Leeds, Leeds, United Kingdom
    Competing interests
    The authors declare that no competing interests exist.

  11. Helen Philippou

    Discovery and Translational Science Department, Leeds Institute of Cariovasular and Metabolic Medicine, University of Leeds, Leeds, United Kingdom
    Competing interests
    The authors declare that no competing interests exist.

  12. Ramzi A Ajjan

    Discovery and Translational Science Department, Leeds Institute of Cariovasular and Metabolic Medicine, University of Leeds, Leeds, United Kingdom
    Competing interests
    The authors declare that no competing interests exist.
    ORCID icon "This ORCID iD identifies the author of this article:" 0000-0002-1636-3725

  13. Robert Ariens

    Discovery anTranslational Science Department, University of Leeds, Leeds, United Kingdom
    For correspondence
    R.A.S.Ariens@leeds.ac.uk
    Competing interests
    The authors declare that no competing interests exist.
    ORCID icon "This ORCID iD identifies the author of this article:" 0000-0002-6310-5745

Funding

British Heart Foundation (RG/13/3/30104)

  • Helen McPherson
  • Cedric Duval
  • Stephen R Baker
  • Marco M Domingues
  • Victoria C Ridger
  • Simon DA Connell
  • Helen Philippou
  • Ramzi A Ajjan
  • Robert Ariens

British Heart Foundation (RG/18/11/34036)

  • Helen McPherson
  • Cedric Duval
  • Stephen R Baker
  • Victoria C Ridger
  • Simon DA Connell
  • Helen Philippou
  • Ramzi A Ajjan
  • Robert Ariens

The funders had no role in study design, data collection and interpretation, or the decision to submit the work for publication.

Ethics

Animal experimentation: Procedures were performed according to accepted standards of humane animal care, approved by the ethical review committee at the University of Leeds, and conducted under license (P144DD0D6) from the United Kingdom Home Office.

Copyright

© 2021, McPherson et al.

This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License permitting unrestricted use and redistribution provided that the original author and source are credited.

Metrics

  • 1,721
    views
  • 234
    downloads
  • 16
    citations

Views, downloads and citations are aggregated across all versions of this paper published by eLife.

Download links

A two-part list of links to download the article, or parts of the article, in various formats.

Downloads (link to download the article as PDF)

Open citations (links to open the citations from this article in various online reference manager services)

Cite this article (links to download the citations from this article in formats compatible with various reference manager tools)

  1. Helen McPherson
  2. Cedric Duval
  3. Stephen R Baker
  4. Matthew S Hindle
  5. Lih T Cheah
  6. Nathan L Asquith
  7. Marco M Domingues
  8. Victoria C Ridger
  9. Simon DA Connell
  10. Khalid Naseem
  11. Helen Philippou
  12. Ramzi A Ajjan
  13. Robert Ariens
(2021)
Fibrinogen αC-subregions critically contribute blood clot fibre growth, mechanical stability and resistance to fibrinolysis
eLife 10:e68761.
https://doi.org/10.7554/eLife.68761

Share this article

https://doi.org/10.7554/eLife.68761

Categories and tags

Research organisms

Further reading

    1. Cell Biology

    Negative regulation of APC/C activation by MAPK-mediated attenuation of Cdc20Slp1 under stress

    Li Sun, Xuejin Chen ... Quan-wen Jin
    Research Article

    Mitotic anaphase onset is a key cellular process tightly regulated by multiple kinases. The involvement of mitogen-activated protein kinases (MAPKs) in this process has been established in Xenopus egg extracts. However, the detailed regulatory cascade remains elusive, and it is also unknown whether the MAPK-dependent mitotic regulation is evolutionarily conserved in the single-cell eukaryotic organisms such as fission yeast (Schizosaccharomyces pombe). Here, we show that two MAPKs in S. pombe indeed act in concert to restrain anaphase-promoting complex/cyclosome (APC/C) activity upon activation of the spindle assembly checkpoint (SAC). One MAPK, Pmk1, binds to and phosphorylates Slp1Cdc20, the co-activator of APC/C. Phosphorylation of Slp1Cdc20 by Pmk1, but not by Cdk1, promotes its subsequent ubiquitylation and degradation. Intriguingly, Pmk1-mediated phosphorylation event is also required to sustain SAC under environmental stress. Thus, our study establishes a new underlying molecular mechanism of negative regulation of APC/C by MAPK upon stress stimuli, and provides a previously unappreciated framework for regulation of anaphase entry in eukaryotic cells.

    1. Cancer Biology
    2. Cell Biology

    Topological stress triggers persistent DNA lesions in ribosomal DNA with ensuing formation of PML-nucleolar compartment

    Alexandra Urbancokova, Terezie Hornofova ... Pavla Vasicova
    Research Article

    PML, a multifunctional protein, is crucial for forming PML-nuclear bodies involved in stress responses. Under specific conditions, PML associates with nucleolar caps formed after RNA polymerase I (RNAPI) inhibition, leading to PML-nucleolar associations (PNAs). This study investigates PNAs-inducing stimuli by exposing cells to various genotoxic stresses. We found that the most potent inducers of PNAs introduced topological stress and inhibited RNAPI. Doxorubicin, the most effective compound, induced double-strand breaks (DSBs) in the rDNA locus. PNAs co-localized with damaged rDNA, segregating it from active nucleoli. Cleaving the rDNA locus with I-PpoI confirmed rDNA damage as a genuine stimulus for PNAs. Inhibition of ATM, ATR kinases, and RAD51 reduced I-PpoI-induced PNAs, highlighting the importance of ATM/ATR-dependent nucleolar cap formation and homologous recombination (HR) in their triggering. I-PpoI-induced PNAs co-localized with rDNA DSBs positive for RPA32-pS33 but deficient in RAD51, indicating resected DNA unable to complete HR repair. Our findings suggest that PNAs form in response to persistent rDNA damage within the nucleolar cap, highlighting the interplay between PML/PNAs and rDNA alterations due to topological stress, RNAPI inhibition, and rDNA DSBs destined for HR. Cells with persistent PNAs undergo senescence, suggesting PNAs help avoid rDNA instability, with implications for tumorigenesis and aging.

    1. Cell Biology

    Pathogenic Huntingtin aggregates alter actin organization and cellular stiffness resulting in stalled clathrin mediated endocytosis

    Surya Bansi Singh, Shatruhan Singh Rajput ... Deepa Subramanyam
    Research Article

    Aggregation of mutant forms of Huntingtin is the underlying feature of neurodegeneration observed in Huntington's disorder. In addition to neurons, cellular processes in non-neuronal cell types are also shown to be affected. Cells expressing neurodegeneration-associated mutant proteins show altered uptake of ligands, suggestive of impaired endocytosis, in a manner as yet unknown. Using live cell imaging, we show that clathrin-mediated endocytosis (CME) is affected in Drosophila hemocytes and mammalian cells containing Huntingtin aggregates. This is also accompanied by alterations in the organization of the actin cytoskeleton resulting in increased cellular stiffness. Further, we find that Huntingtin aggregates sequester actin and actin-modifying proteins. Overexpression of Hip1 or Arp3 (actin-interacting proteins) could restore CME and cellular stiffness in cells containing Huntingtin aggregates. Neurodegeneration driven by pathogenic Huntingtin was also rescued upon overexpression of either Hip1 or Arp3 in Drosophila. Examination of other pathogenic aggregates revealed that TDP-43 also displayed defective CME, altered actin organization and increased stiffness, similar to pathogenic Huntingtin. Together, our results point to an intimate connection between dysfunctional CME, actin misorganization and increased cellular stiffness caused by alteration in the local intracellular environment by pathogenic aggregates.