The exact mechanisms regulating conformational changes in the platelet-specific integrin
IIb3are not fully understood. However, a role exists for thiol/disulfide exchange in integrin conformationalchanges leading to altered disulfide bonding patterns, via its endogenous thiol isomerase activity. Nitricoxide (NO) accelerates this intrinsic enzymatic activity and, in doing so, reverses the activational state ofthe integrin on the platelet surface toward a more unactivated one. We propose that it is an S-nitrosylation-induced "shuffling" of thiol/disulfide exchange that regulates this reversal of the activated state of theintegrin. In this study, we use Raman spectroscopy to explore S-nitrosylation of purified
IIb3. Using
S-nitrosoglutathione (GSNO) as a model system, we identify Raman markers which show a direct interactionbetween NO and the thiol groups of the integrin and reveal many of the structural changes that occur in
IIb3 in the course of not only its activation but also its deactivation. Key conformational changes aredetected within the integrin when treated with manganese (Mn
2+), occurring mainly in the cysteine anddisulfide regions of the protein, confirming the importance of thiol/disulfide exchange in integrin activation.These changes are subsequently shown to be reversed in the presence of NO.