HUMAN PLACENTAL ANTICOAGULANT PROTEIN
Authors: Fujikawa K , Funakoshi T , Heimark R L , Tait J F 
Published: August 2018

Endothelium is important to maintain blood fluidity preventing coagulation. Glycosaminoglycan in the endothelial cell plasma membrane has been thought to prevent activation of blood coagulation. Heparin-like compound, which is a potent anticoagulant activity, has been localized on the surface of the cultured endothelial cells. Anticoagulant action associated with thrombomodulin, which is present in endothelial cells, is another mechanism to provide hemostatic nature of endothelial cells.

We wondered whether any other intracellular protein(s) is involved in coagulation. We looked for such a protein(s) in cultured bovine aortic endothelial cells. We soon found an anticoagulant activity in the soluble fraction of endothelial cells and it was partially purified. This activity was adsorbed to DEAE-Sepharose and eluted from a gel filtration column in a molecular weight range of 30,000-40,000. However, limited amounts of the cells made it difficult to purify this activity. We then chose human placenta as a substitute source of this protein and have continued the purification of this anticoagulant activity.

In this communication, we describe the isolation and characterization of a placental anticoagulant protein, called "PAP", which is silmilar or possible same as the endothelial anticoaguant protein. PAP was purified from the soluble fraction of human placenta by ammonium sulfate precipitation and column chromatography on DEAE-Sepharose, Sephadex G-75, and mono S (Pharmacia). Approximately 20 mg of the protein was purified from one placenta. The purified protein gave a single band by SDS polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis with a molecular weight of 36,500. This protein inhibited both kaolin- and thromboplastin-induced partial thromboplastin times of normal human plasma. It also inhibited the clotting time of platelet-rich plasma induced by factor Xa, but did not affect the thrombin activity of fibrinogen-fibrin conversion. The purified protein completely inhibited the prothrombin activation by reconstituted prothrombinase. The protein neither inhibited the amidolytic activity of factor Xa nor bound factor Xa. This protein specifically bound to phospholipid vesicles (20% phosphatidylserine and 80% phosphatidylcholine) in the presence of calcium ions. These results indicate that PAP inhibits coagulation through the binding to phospholipid vesicles. The study on the amino acid sequence of PAP is in progress in our laboratory. Surprisingly, the sequence analysis of the cyanogen bromide fragments revealed that PAP is a new member of the lipocortin or calpactin family. The sequences of several cyanogen bromide fragments of PAP aligns with the sequences of lipocortin I and II with over 50% identity.

Since PAP interacts directly with phospholipid rather than factor Xa, other activation steps in the coagulation cascade, in which phospholipid is involved, are pro^|bly affected by PAP. These reactions are the activation of factor X by a complex of factor IXa-factor VIIIa-phospholipid-Ca++ and the activations of factor X and factor IX by a tissue factor-factor VIIa-Ca++ complex.

Reutelingsperger et. al,, have reported the isolation of a novel inhibitor from arteries of human umbilical cord. This protein inhibited the prothrombin activation by prothrombinase. The authors proposed that the inhibition mechanism of this inhibitor was a competition with factor Xa for binding to phospholipid. This protein is very similar to PAP as to the mode of inhibition. The molecular weight of this inhibitor is 32,000, which is slightly smaller than PAP. With the limited chemical characterization of this protein, presently it is difficult to identify this inhibitor with PAP.

At the present time, the physiological role and origin of PAP is not known. PAP may originate from the endothelium of placenta, because we have detected a PAP-like anticoagulant activity in bovine aortic endothelial cells. This activity and PAP were quite alike in the purification up to the gel filtration step. If PAP antibody recognizes the antigen in the endothelial cells, it is interesting to see whether PAP localizes on the surface or inside the cells. Nevertheless, if PAP is present in the endothelial cells, it may play an important role to maintain the hemostatic nature of endothelium. PAP may bind phospholipid components at injured sites, before coagulation factors come in contact with lipid components and initiate thrombolytic events.