Role of carbohydrate and protein in the binding of tissue-type plasminogen activator to the human mannose receptor

The 175-kDa mannose receptor is one of the receptors that mediates the clearance of tissue-type plasminogen activator (t-PA). The affinity of t-PA for the mannose receptor is much higher than the affinity of other high-mannose-type oligosaccharide-containing glycoproteins. In order to find an explanation for this high affinity, we studied the biochemical interaction of various forms of t-PA with the isolated human mannose receptor in several in vitro binding assays. t-PA showed a high affinity (K-i = 0.2 nM) for the mannose receptor and the interaction could be fully inhibited by mannan or polyclonal antibodies against the mannose receptor. The interaction was not affected by non-glycosylated t-PA. The high affinity differed slightly between t-PAs synthesized by various cell types (range K-i 0.2-0.7 nM) and between various glycoforms of t-PA. No statistically significant difference in affinity between t-PA and t-PA complexed to inhibitors was observed. In contrast to intact t-PA, a trypsin digest of t-PA had a low affinity (K-i = 0.5 mu M) for the mannose receptor. Both intact and trypsin digests of the high-mannose-type oligosaccharide-containing glycoproteins ribonuclease B and ovalbumin had a low affinity (K-i 0.5 - 1.5 mu M) for the mannose receptor. We conclude that neither protein-protein interactions, nor the complex-type oligosaccharides and the fucose residue on t-PA contribute significantly to the high-affinity binding of t-PA. We suggest that the conformation of the high-mannose-type oligosaccharide on t-PA is influenced by the protein moiety of t-PA in such a way that the oligosaccharide has a high affinity for the mannose receptor.