Plasminogen activator inhibitor-1 (PAI-1) and vitronectin are cofactors involved in pathological conditions such as injury, inflammation, and cancer, during which local levels of PAI-1 are increased and the active serpin forms complexes with vitronectin. These complexes become deposited into surrounding tissue matrices, where they regulate cell adhesion and pericellular proteolysis. The mechanism for their co-localization has not been elucidated. We hypothesize that PAI-1-vitronectin complexes form in a stepwise and concentration-dependent fashion via 1:1 and 2:1 intermediates, with the 2:1 complex serving a key role in assembly of higher order complexes. To test this hypothesis, sedimentation velocity experiments in the analytical ultracentrifuge were performed to identify different PAI-1-vitronectin complexes. Analysis of sedimentation data invoked a novel multisignal method to discern the stoichiometry of the two proteins in the higher-order complexes formed (Balbo, A. Plasminogen activator inhibitor type 1 (PAI-1) 1 and vitronectin are biological cofactors that play a central role in extracellular matrix remodeling during pathological events such as tissue injury and cancer progression (1-3). The serpin PAI-1 is the primary inhibitor of tissue-and urokinase-type plasminogen activators and thus is the main regulator of plasminmediated vascular and pericellular proteolysis (4 -6). The circulating form of PAI-1 is found primarily in a complex with vitronectin, with the inhibitor bound at a high affinity site located within the amino-terminal SMB domain of vitronectin (7-9). Vitronectin, which is found both in blood and surrounding tissues, also contains binding sites for cell surface receptors and ECM components, both of which serve in the attachment of cells to their surrounding matrices (10 -17).In many instances of tissue injury, cell invasion, or tumor development, PAI-1 and vitronectin are co-localized to the areas of vascular damage, necrosis, angiogenesis, and inflammation (2, 18 -23). In contrast to PAI-1, which is locally produced and secreted by cells into the pericellular environment, the main source of vitronectin for tissue deposition is probably its recruitment from circulation. Incorporation of vitronectin into tissue ECM is linked to "activation" of the protein into an altered, adhesive form, which is both structurally and functionally distinct from its native, plasma counterpart (3). Adhesive functions adopted by this altered form of vitronectin work in parallel with the inhibitory functions of PAI-1, in a fashion that allows for co-regulation of cell adhesion and tissue degradation. The exact mechanism by which plasma vitronectin adopts the altered form, is relocalized, and becomes associated with PAI-1 in tissues under pathological scenarios is currently undefined.Interaction of PAI-1 and vitronectin affects the structural and functional properties of both proteins. The active structure of free PAI-1 is relatively unstable, and it readily converts into a latent, inactive form by spontaneous i...