title: Helix D elongation and allosteric activation of antithrombin.
abstract: Antithrombin requires allosteric activation by heparin for efficient inhibition of its target protease, factor Xa. A pentasaccharide sequence found in heparin activates antithrombin by inducing conformational changes that affect the reactive center of the inhibitor resulting in optimal recognition by factor Xa. The mechanism of transmission of the activating conformational change from the heparin-binding region to the reactive center loop remains unresolved. To investigate the role of helix D elongation in the allosteric activation of antithrombin, we substituted a proline residue for Lys(133). Heparin binding affinity was reduced by 25-fold for the proline variant compared with the control, and a significant decrease in the associated intrinsic fluorescence enhancement was also observed. Rapid kinetic studies revealed that the main reason for the reduced affinity for heparin was an increase in the rate of the reverse conformational change step. The pentasaccharide-accelerated rate of factor Xa inhibition for the proline variant was 10-fold lower than control, demonstrating that the proline variant cannot be fully activated toward factor Xa. We conclude that helix D elongation is critical for the full conversion of antithrombin to its high affinity, activated state, and we propose a mechanism to explain how helix D elongation is coupled to allosteric activation.
authors.affiliation: Department of Haematology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge Institute for Medical Research, Wellcome Trust/MRC Building, Hills Rd., Cambridge CB2 2XY, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: Klara J
authors.initials: KJ
authors.lastname: Belzar
authors.forename: Aiwu
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Zhou
authors.forename: Robin W
authors.initials: RW
authors.lastname: Carrell
authors.forename: Peter G W
authors.initials: PG
authors.lastname: Gettins
authors.forename: James A
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Huntington
mesh_terms: D000495:Allosteric Site; D000991:Antithrombins / Q000737:chemistry*; D004305:Dose-Response Relationship, Drug; D015951:Factor Xa / Q000737:chemistry; D006493:Heparin / Q000378:metabolism; D007700:Kinetics; D008239:Lysine / Q000737:chemistry; D008856:Microscopy, Fluorescence; D008958:Models, Molecular; D010455:Peptides / Q000737:chemistry; D011392:Proline / Q000737:chemistry; D011485:Protein Binding; D011487:Protein Conformation; D017433:Protein Structure, Secondary; D017434:Protein Structure, Tertiary; D013050:Spectrometry, Fluorescence; D013816:Thermodynamics
chemical_list: D000991:Antithrombins; D010455:Peptides; D006493:Heparin; D011392:Proline; D015951:Factor Xa; D008239:Lysine