Abstact

Thrombosis is a leading cause of death worldwide. Recombinant tissue-type plasminogen activator (tPA) is the Food and Drug Administration-approved thrombolytic drug. tPA is rapidly inactivated by endogenous plasminogen activator inhibitor-1 (PAI-1). Engineering on tPA to reduce its inhibition by PAI-1 without compromising its thrombolytic effect is a continuous effort. Precise details, with atomic resolution, of the molecular interactions between tPA and PAI-1 remain unknown despite previous extensive studies. Here, we report the crystal structure of the tPA·PAI-1 Michaelis complex, which shows significant differences from the structure of its urokinase-type plasminogen activator analogue, the uPA·PAI-1 Michaelis complex. The PAI-1 reactive center loop adopts a unique kinked conformation. The structure provides detailed interactions between tPA 37- and 60-loops with PAI-1. On the tPA side, the S2 and S1β pockets open up to accommodate PAI-1. This study provides structural basis to understand the specificity of PAI-1 and to design newer generation of thrombolytic agents with reduced PAI-1 inactivation.