Cofactor-and substrate-assisted activation of factor VIIa
[FA7_HUMAN] Defects in F7 are the cause of factor VII deficiency (FA7D) [MIM:227500]. A hemorrhagic disease with variable presentation. The clinical picture can be very severe, with the early occurrence of intracerebral hemorrhages or repeated hemarthroses, or, in contrast, moderate with cutaneous-mucosal hemorrhages (epistaxis, menorrhagia) or hemorrhages provoked by a surgical intervention. Finally, numerous subjects are completely asymptomatic despite very low factor VII levels.                       
[FA7_HUMAN] Initiates the extrinsic pathway of blood coagulation. Serine protease that circulates in the blood in a zymogen form. Factor VII is converted to factor VIIa by factor Xa, factor XIIa, factor IXa, or thrombin by minor proteolysis. In the presence of tissue factor and calcium ions, factor VIIa then converts factor X to factor Xa by limited proteolysis. Factor VIIa will also convert factor IX to factor IXa in the presence of tissue factor and calcium.
Publication Abstract from PubMed
Factor VIIa initiates the extrinsic coagulation cascade; this event requires a delicately balanced regulation that is implemented on different levels, including a sophisticated multi-step activation mechanism of factor VII. Its central role in hemostasis and thrombosis makes factor VIIa a key target of pharmaceutical research. We succeeded, for the first time, in recombinantly producing N-terminally truncated factor VII (rf7) in an Escherichia coli expression system by employing an oxidative, in vitro, folding protocol, which depends critically on the presence of ethylene glycol. Activated recombinant factor VIIa (rf7a) was crystallised in the presence of the reversible S1-site inhibitor benzamidine. Comparison of this 1.69A crystal structure with that of an inhibitor-free and sulphate-free, but isomorphous crystal form identified structural details of factor VIIa stimulation. The stabilisation of Asp189-Ser190 by benzamidine and the capping of the intermediate helix by a sulphate ion appear to be sufficient to mimic the disorder-order transition conferred by the cofactor tissue factor (TF) and the substrate factor X. Factor VIIa shares with the homologous factor IXa, but not factor Xa, a bell-shaped activity modulation dependent on ethylene glycol. The ethylene glycol-binding site of rf7a was identified in the vicinity of the 60 loop. Ethylene glycol binding induces a significant conformational rearrangement of the 60 loop. This region serves as a recognition site of the physiologic substrate, factor X, which is common to both factor VIIa and factor IXa. These results provide a mechanistic framework of substrate-assisted catalysis of both factor VIIa and factor IXa.
Crystal structures of uninhibited factor VIIa link its cofactor and substrate-assisted activation to specific interactions.,Sichler K, Banner DW, D'Arcy A, Hopfner KP, Huber R, Bode W, Kresse GB, Kopetzki E, Brandstetter H J Mol Biol. 2002 Sep 20;322(3):591-603. PMID:12225752
From MEDLINE®/PubMed®, a database of the U.S. National Library of Medicine.