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Human platelet glycoprotein Ib/IX complex acts as a receptor for von Willebrand factor. It is widely accepted that glycoprotein Ib is the essential receptor component, but the role of glycoprotein IX is still unclear. We produced a new monoclonal anti-glycoprotein IX antibody (KMP-9) by the hybridoma technique using platelets from a patient with Glanzmann's thrombasthenia. The epitope of KMP-9 was localized to the C-terminal 8 kD fragment of glycoprotein IX using ELISA analysis of polyethylene-pin-synthesized peptides, as well as Western blot analysis of platelets after digestion with N-glycosidase and Staphylococcus aureus V8 protease. KMP-9 partially inhibited high shear stress-induced platelet aggregation, but had no effect on aggregation induced by ristocetin or low shear stress. Its inhibitory effect on high shear stress-induced aggregation was weaker than that of anti-glycoprotein Ib or anti-glycoprotein IIb/IIIa monoclonal antibodies. A 21-mer synthetic peptide (glycoprotein IX L110-G130) inhibited the binding of KMP-9 to platelets. It also competively inhibited the suppression of high shear stress-induced platelet aggregation by KMP-9, but had no direct effect on this aggregation. KMP-9 may be useful to clarify the physiological role of GPIX.

We investigated the association of amyloid beta-protein precursor (APP) and platelet derived microparticles in 20 normal controls and 91 patients with various diseases causing a thrombotic tendency. Compared with the controls, the mean percentage of APP-positive microparticles was significantly greater in the patients with cerebral infarction (39.1 +/- 17.7%, p < 0.001), diabetes (31.1 +/- 12.6%, p < 0.001), and uremia (30.1 +/- 14.7%, p < 0.01), but not in those with hypertension (8.2 +/- 6.3%, p = NS). Sixteen patients with cerebral infarction, 20 with diabetes, and 11 with uremia had microparticles with very high APP levels. In normal controls, 7.2 +/- 3.7% of the microparticles were positive for P-selectin, while the percentage in cerebral infarction, diabetes, uremia, and hypertension was respectively 43.5 +/- 15.1%, 40.0 +/- 12.8%, 31.8 +/- 12.2%, and 11.6 +/- 7.3%. There was a significant correlation between P-selectin and APP positivity of microparticles. Our results suggest that microparticle APP may have a regulatory influence on coagulation abnormalities.

Whether or not the factor VII Gla-domain is involved in the high-affinity interaction of factor VII and tissue factor via calcium-dependent interactions with surrounding phospholipids is unknown. To investigate this, we have purified the factor VII Gla-peptide (FVII-GP) from digested recombinant human factor VIIa and assessed its effect on factor VII:tissue factor interactions. FVII-GP inhibited the activation of factor X by factor VIIa in the presence of either soluble or cell surface tissue factor half-maximally at 0.5 microM and 2.7 microM, respectively. However, FVII-GP failed to inhibit the specific binding of factor VIIa to cell-surface tissue factor, and did not inhibit the ability of tissue factor to stimulate the amidolytic activity of factor VIIa. Unrelipidated tissue factor apoprotein stimulated the amidolytic activity of factor VIIa to the same extent as relipidated tissue factor apoprotein. These findings suggest that the factor VII Gla-domain does not directly interact with tissue factor, but rather is important for calcium binding and concomitant expression of other factor VII epitopes necessary for tissue factor recognition and binding. To test this hypothesis, we have prepared a monoclonal antibody against a putative factor VII epitope that participates in the interaction of factor VII with cell-surface tissue factor (peptide 195-206) and assessed its ability to bind to factor VII in the presence and absence of calcium. Binding of this monoclonal antibody (PW-4) to intact factor VIIa was calcium-dependent and could be inhibited in a dose-dependent manner by peptide 195-206.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Although it is well established that calcium is an essential cofactor in blood coagulation, recent experimental evidence suggests that zinc may also play an important role in hemostasis. In the present study, we have examined the effect of zinc ions on the amidolytic and proteolytic activity of recombinant factor VIIa in the presence of physiological levels of calcium ions. The amidolytic activity of factor VIIa was inhibited half-maximally by 20 microM zinc. The amidolytic activity of a derivative of factor VIIa lacking the gamma-carboxyglutamic acid domain was also inhibited half-maximally by 20 microM zinc, suggesting that the mechanism of zinc inhibition of factor VIIa amidolytic activity did not involve its gamma-carboxyglutamic acid residues. The amidolytic activity of a complex of recombinant tissue factor and factor VIIa was inhibited half-maximally by 70 microM zinc. In contrast to the results obtained with factor VIIa, the amidolytic activities of other human vitamin K-dependent coagulation proteases including factor Xa, thrombin and activated protein C were not appreciably affected by 50-100 microM zinc. The proteolytic activation of factor X by a complex of factor VIIa and relipidated tissue factor apoprotein was inhibited half-maximally by 40 microM zinc, whereas activation of factor IX in this system was inhibited half-maximally by 70 microM zinc ions. Considerably higher levels of zinc (approximately 100 microM) were required to inhibit half-maximally the rate of factor X activation by a complex of factor VIIa and functional tissue factor on the surface of either a human bladder carcinoma cell line, J82, or stimulated human umbilical vein endothelial cells.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)