Summary
Human factor V has been shown not only to be a precursor to procoagulant factor Va
but also to express anticoagulant properties. Thus, factor V was recently found to
potentiate the effect of protein S as cofactor to activated protein C (APC) in the
inactivation of the factor VIIIa-factor IXa complex. The purpose of this study was
to determine whether the APC-cofactor function of factor V was also expressed in the
bovine protein C system and to elucidate the molecular background for the species
specificity of APC. For this purpose, the effects of protein S and factor V on APC-mediated
inactivation of factor VIIIa were studied using purified APC, protein S and factor
V of human and bovine.origin. The factor VIIIa investigated here was part of a Xase
complex (i.e. factor IXa, factor VIIIa, phospholipid and calcium) and the APC-mediated
inhibition of factor VIIIa was monitored by the ability of the Xase complex to activate
factor X. Synergistic APC-cofactor function of factor V and protein S was demonstrated
in the bovine system. The effect of bovine APC was potentiated by bovine protein S
but not by human protein S, whereas both human or bovine protein S stimulated the
function of human APC. Factor V did not express species specificity in its APC-cofactor
activity even though bovine factor V was more potent than its human counterpart. Recombinant
human/bovine protein S chimeras were used to demonstrate that the thrombin sensitive
region and first epidermal growth factor-like module of protein S determine the species
specificity of the APC-protein S interaction. In conclusion, both human and bovine
factor V were found to express APC-cofactor activity which depends on the presence
of protein S. The species specificity of APC was shown to be caused by the interaction
between APC and protein S.