Summary
Structural data have indicated that the 60-loop of thrombin with 8–9 insertion residues
is responsible for the restricted substrate and inhibitor specificity of thrombin.
However, previous deletion of 3–4 residues of this loop (des-PPW and des-YPPW) did
not widen the specificity of thrombin, but further restricted it. The partial deletion
of this loop also dramatically impaired the reactivity of thrombin with antithrombin
(AT), protein C and fibrinogen, implicating a role for the productive interaction
of the 60-loop with the target macromolecules. To further investigate the role of
this loop, a mutant of thrombin was expressed in mammalian cells in which all 8 residues
(Tyr-Pro-Pro-Trp-Asp-Lys-Asn-Phe) of the 60-loop were deleted (des-60-loop). In contrast
to the partially deleted loop mutants, it was discovered that the des-60-loop mutant
cleaved small synthetic substrates, clotted purified fibrinogen, and activated protein
C with a near normal catalytic efficiency; however, its activity toward cofactors
V and VIII was impaired ~2–4-fold. Direct binding and AT inhibition studies in the
presence of heparin revealed that the affinity of heparin for interaction with exosite-2
of des-60-loop thrombin was impaired, though the reactivity of the mutant with AT
and other plasma serpins was not impaired, but rather improved ~2-fold. These results
suggest that the 60-loop plays a key role in regulating the specificity of thrombin
by shielding the active-site pocket, but its productive interaction with the target
molecules may not be as critical as has been speculated in previous reports.
Keywords
Thrombin - specificity - protein C - fibrinogen - antithrombin