Summary
Human and bovine factor Va (FVa) function similarly in the activation of prothrombin
but differently in the activation of prethrombin-1 (Pre-1). Pre-1 activation with
human FVa proceeds at about 22 percent of the rate with bovine FVa. The dependencies
of initial rates on the FVa and Pre-1 concentrations indicate that the differential
activity is expressed in kcat differences, rather than differences in the assembly
of prothrombinase or the Km
value of the substrate. The heavy and light chains of both species of FVa were separated
and interspecies hybrids were constructed in the presence of Ca++. Studies of the activation of Pre-1 with these hybrids indicate that the species
difference can be attributed specifically to the heavy chain of FVa. Analyses of the
reactions by SDS-PAGE indicated that cleavage at Arg271 occurs at about the same rate
with both species of FVa, but cleavage at Arg320 with human FVa is specifically retarded.
A major difference in primary structure between the human and bovine FVa heavy chains
comprises 10 residues at COOH-terminus, adjacent to the negatively charged hirudin-like
DYDYQ sequence. These residues have pI values of 12.5 and 4.26 in human and bovine
FVa, respectively. The lower value would complement the negatively charged DYDYQ sequence
but the higher value would counteract it. Thus, we suggest that the differences in
the COOH-terminus of the heavy chain are responsible for the differences in Pre-1
activation, and that it specifically influences cleavage at Arg320 in Pre-1.
Keywords
Coagulation factors - factor Va - prethrombin-1 - prothrombin - activation