Separation of Active and Inactive Forms of Recombinant Human Plasminogen Activator Inhibitor Type 1 (PAI-1) Expressed in Chinese Hamster Ovary Cells: Comparison with Native Human PAI-1

Abstract

Human plasminogen activator inhibitor type 1, PAI-1, was expressed in Chinese hamster ovary cells. A production level of 10-15 mg latent PAI-1 per liter of media was achieved after methotrexate amplification. Latent recombinant PAI-1 was purified by two chromatographic steps, cation exchange chromatography on CM-Sepharose and affinity chromatography on heparin-Sepharose. The obtained latent PAI-1 was approximately 90-95% pure showing one homogenous peak upon size-exclusion chromatography. However, four different isoforms due to different degrees of sialylation could be seen upon isoelectric focusing. Purified latent PAI-1 was activated by incubation in 6 M guanidine-HCl. By this method, 40-60% of PAI-1 was converted to an active form after removing the denaturant. The active fraction of PAI-1 was separated from inactive material by size exclusion chromatography on Superdex 200. Active PAI-1 migrated as expected for a 43-kDa large protein, while inactive PAI-1 migrated as larger protein complexes, suggesting that the remaining inactive PAI-1 was in the form of aggregates. This method for the separation of active and inactive PAI-1 could also be used for activated native PAI-1 prepared from human endothelial cells. Active recombinant PAI-1 was remarkably stable at pH 5.5, both when stored on ice and when stored at room temperature.