Heparin cofactor II and thrombin Heparin-binding proteins linking hemostasis and inflammation.
α-Thrombin is a trypsinlike serine proteinase involved in blood coagulation and wound-healing processes, which interacts with many different macromolecular substances. Heparin cofactor II is a serpin (serine proteinase inhibitor) superfamily member that specifically inhibits thrombin but no other proteinase in blood coagulation. Both heparin cofactor II and thrombin interact with highly negatively charged glycosaminoglycans like heparin and dermatan sulfate, and they both are leukocyte chemoattractants. The focus of this brief review is structure-function characteristics of heparin cofactor II and thrombin and their physiologic participation in uniting hemostatic and inflammatory processes.
Departments of Pthology and Medicine and the Center for Thrombosis and Hemostasis, School of Medicine, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, USA.
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Church
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Hoffman