Molecular basis of thrombomodulin activation of slow thrombin.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Coagulation is a highly regulated process where the ability to prevent blood loss after injury is balanced against the maintenance of blood fluidity. Thrombin is at the center of this balancing act. It is the critical enzyme for producing and stabilizing a clot, but when complexed with thrombomodulin (TM) it is converted to a powerful anticoagulant. Another cofactor that may play a role in determining thrombin function is the monovalent cation Na(+). Its apparent affinity suggests that half of the thrombin generated is in a Na(+)-free 'slow' state and half is in a Na(+)-coordinated 'fast' state. While slow thrombin is a poor procoagulant enzyme, when complexed to TM it is an effective anticoagulant.

Methods

To better understand this molecular transformation we sol

SUBMITTER: Adams TE 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC2844540 | biostudies-literature | 2009 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature