Mice homozygously deficient for the urokinase-type plasminogen activator (u-PA) receptor (u-PAR-1-) were generated by homologous recombination in D3, embryonic stem cells. The genomic sequences comprising exon 2 through 5 of the u-PAR gene were replaced by the neomycin resistance gene, resulting in inactivation of both u-PAR splice variants. The inactivated u-PAR allele was transmitted via mendelian inheritance, and fertility. Inactivation of u-PAR was confirmed by the absence of binding of rabbit anti-murine u-PAR or of an aminoterminal fragment of murine u-PA (mu-PA.1-48) to u-PAR-1- embryonic fibroblasts and macrophages. u-PAR-1- mice displayed normal lysis of a murine plasma clot injected via the jugular vein. Invasion of macrophages into the peritoneal cavity after thioglycollate stimulation was similar in u-PAR-1- and u-PAR-1- mice. u-PAR-1- peritoneal macrophages had a threefold decreased initial rate of u-PA-mediated plasminogen activation in vitro but degraded extracellular matrix proteins in vitro as efficiently as u-PAR-1- macrophages.
M Dewerchin, A V Nuffelen, G Wallays, A Bouché, L Moons, P Carmeliet, R C Mulligan, D Collen
The Editorial Board will only consider comments that are deemed relevant and of interest to readers. The Journal will not post data that have not been subjected to peer review; or a comment that is essentially a reiteration of another comment.