Duplication of the Antistasin-Like Structure Resulted in a New Anticoagulant Protein in the Medicinal Leech.

ABSTRACT: Blood-sucking organisms produce various anticoagulant proteins that prevent blood clotting in their prey. Even in well-studied species like Hirudo medicinalis, many such proteins remain unidentified. We previously described a novel cysteine-rich anticoagulant (CRA), a distant homolog of antistasin. Later, we discovered another, much larger homolog in the medicinal leech. Its amino acid sequence is also highly cysteine-rich. Analysis of cysteine patterns showed four antistasin-like domain motifs, with one of them strongly disrupted. Since both antistasin and CRA contain two such domains, the new protein represents a duplicated antistasin-like structure. We cloned its cDNA, expressed the recombinant protein in Escherichia coli, purified it by metal-chelate chromatography, refol

SUBMITTER: Brovina KA 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12838937 | biostudies-literature | 2026 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature