title: Conformational changes in serpins: II. The mechanism of activation of antithrombin by heparin.
abstract: Antithrombin, uniquely among plasma serpins acting as proteinase inhibitors in the control of the blood coagulation cascade, circulates in a relatively inactive form. Its activation by heparin, and specifically by a pentasaccharide core of heparin, has been shown to involve release of the peptide loop containing the reactive centre from partial insertion in the A sheet of the molecule. Here we compare the structures of the circulating inactive form of antithrombin with the activated structure in complex with heparin pentasaccharide. We show that the rearrangement of the reactive centre loop that occurs upon activation is part of a widespread conformational change involving a realignment of the two major domains of the molecule. We also examine natural mutants that possess high affinity for heparin pentasaccharide, and relate the kinetics of their interaction with heparin pentasaccharide to the structural transitions occuring in the activation process.
authors.affiliation: Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Monash University, Melbourne, Victoria, 3168.
authors.forename: J C
authors.initials: JC
authors.lastname: Whisstock
authors.forename: R N
authors.initials: RN
authors.lastname: Pike
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Jin
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Skinner
authors.forename: X Y
authors.initials: XY
authors.lastname: Pei
authors.forename: R W
authors.initials: RW
authors.lastname: Carrell
authors.forename: A M
authors.initials: AM
authors.lastname: Lesk
mesh_terms: D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D019943:Amino Acid Substitution / Q000235:genetics; D000991:Antithrombins / Q000819:agonists / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000378:metabolism*; D001665:Binding Sites; D018360:Crystallography, X-Ray; D015195:Drug Design; D006493:Heparin / Q000737:chemistry / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000494:pharmacology*; D006801:Humans; D007700:Kinetics; D008958:Models, Molecular; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D009154:Mutation / Q000235:genetics; D009994:Osmolar Concentration; D011485:Protein Binding; D011487:Protein Conformation / Q000187:drug effects; D012399:Rotation; D055672:Static Electricity; D013816:Thermodynamics
chemical_list: D000991:Antithrombins; D006493:Heparin