Purification, biochemical properties and antithrombotic effect of a novel Streptomyces enzyme on carrageenan-induced mice tail thrombosis model.

Introduction: The prevalence of cardiovascular diseases, one of the major causes of worldwide mortality, is being increasingly reported. Safer, more effective, and less expensive thrombolytic drugs can possibly overcome the underlying problems associate with current thrombolytic drugs.

Methods: A thrombolytic enzyme was purified and characterized from a Streptomyces strain. Carrageenan induced tail-thrombosis mice model was used to evaluate in vivo antithrombotic effect of the enzyme.

Results: First 15N-terminal amino acids of the purified enzyme were IAGGQAIYAGGGRRS, which are significantly different from the reported fibrinolytic enzymes. The enzyme exhibited 14.3±2.3-fold stronger thrombolytic activity than that of plasmin. In carrageenan induced tail-thrombosis model, the enzyme caused reduction in frequency of thrombus. Tail-thrombus of the enzyme treated group was significantly shorter than the physiological saline treated group and the thrombus decrement was correlated with the enzyme dose.

Conclusions: The enzyme purified from the Streptomyces strain can be a potential candidate for the treatment of thrombosis.