Summary
Thrombin binding to fibrin may be important in localizing thrombin to the site of
vascular injury. However, fibrin-bound thrombin retains its catalytic activity toward
fibrinogen, and may be prothrombotic under certain conditions. A collection of 52
purified thrombin mutants was used to identify those residues mediating the thrombin-fibrin
interaction. Comparison of fibrinogen clotting activity with fibrin binding activity
identified twenty residues involved in fibrinogen recognition with four of these residues
important in fibrin binding (Lys65, His66, Tyr71, Arg73). No mutant was identified with normal clotting activity and deficient fibrin binding,
suggesting that these two properties are not readily dissociable. A DNA thrombin aptamer
that binds to these residues was able to inhibit the thrombin-fibrin interaction,
and displace thrombin that was already bound. Mapping of these fibrin-binding residues
on thrombin revealed that they are localized within exosite I, and comprise a subset
of the residues important in fibrinogen recognition.
Keywords
Thrombin - fibrin - alanine-scanning mutagenesis - clot-bound thrombin