Figure 8.
Plasmin(ogen) dependent activation of matrix metalloproteinases. (a) gelatin zymography after MMP-9 immunoprecipitation; (b and c) autoradiograph from metabolically labeled macrophage-conditioned medium after MMP-9 (b) or MMP-13 (c) immunoprecipitation. In the absence of plasminogen (−Plg), only the zymogen proMMP-9 (∼92 kD, a and b) and proMMP-13 (∼57 kD, c) are present in the conditioned medium from macrophages of all genotypes. In the presence of plasminogen (+Plg; 10 μg/ml), these proforms are processed to the active MMP-9 (∼82 kD) and MMP-13 (∼45-kD doublet and partially processed forms) by wild-type (WT) and u-PAR–deficient (u-PAR −/−) macrophages but not by u-PA– deficient (u-PA −/−) macrophages.