The ovine plasminogen activator inhibitors type 1 and type 2 cDNAs: Molecular cloning, characterization and expression in various tissues

Two serine proteases, urokinase and tissue type, control the activation of plasminogen to plasmin. These proteases are in turn specifically inhibited by plasminogen activator inhibitors type 1 and 2 (PAI-1 and PAI-2), both of which belong to the serine protease inhibitor (serpin) superfamily. Very little information is available on the role of PAI-1 and PAI-2 in ruminants, in mammary gland involution and in the adipose tissue. In this paper we describe the isolation of the full-length cDNAs of ovine PAI-1 and PAI-2 using a polymerase chain reaction based strategy. The ovine PAI-1 cDNA comprised of 1460 bp and it is characterized by a coding region of 1209 bp, and 5′- and 3′-UTR regions of 147 and 104 bp, respectively. The deduced amino acid sequence consists of 402 amino acids. The ovine PAI-2 cDNA is comprised of 2128 bp and it is characterized by a coding region of 957 bp and 5′- and 3′-UTR regions of 58 and 819 bp respectively. The deduced amino acid sequence consists of 416 amino acids. Three-dimensional models of the putative protein products of both cDNAs showed that the proteins bear a high similarity with their human counterparts. Real-time PCR revealed that the two inhibitors were predominantly expressed in the ovine mammary gland and adipose tissue. Furthermore, PAI-1 and PAI-2 mRNA levels were higher in the involuting mammary tissue and the adipose tissue obtained from non-lactating ewes compared to the corresponding values in tissues obtained from lactating ewes. These data are consistent with the notion that the plasminogen activation cascade plays a key role in involution of the mammary gland. The upregulation of expression of both inhibitors in the adipose tissue during the non-lactating period is a rather enigmatic observation. However, the expression of both inhibitors (PAI-1 and PAI-2) together with that of urokinase type plasminogen activator and its receptor previously reported by our group, strengthen the suggestion that the adipose tissue functions as an endocrine besides an energy storage organ.