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S Aguila,
I Martínez-Martínez,
M Collado,
P Llamas,
A I Antón,
C Martínez-Redondo, J Padilla,
A Miñano,
M E de la Morena-Barrio,
A Garcia-Avello,
V Vicente,
J Corral
Thrombosis and Haemostasis 01/2013; 109(3). · 5.04 Impact Factor
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María Eugenia de la Morena-Barrio,
Ana Isabel Antón,
Irene Martínez-Martínez, José Padilla,
Antonia Miñano,
José Navarro-Fernández,
Sonia Águila,
María Fernanda López,
Jordi Fontcuberta,
Vicente Vicente,
Javier Corral
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ABSTRACT: Antithrombin is the main endogenous anticoagulant. Impaired function or deficiency of this molecule significantly increases the risk of thrombosis. We studied the genetic variability of SERPINC1 , the gene encoding antithrombin, to identify mutations affecting regulatory regions with functional effect on its levels. We sequenced 15,375 bp of this gene, including the potential promoter region, in three groups of subjects: five healthy subjects with antithrombin levels in the lowest (75%) and highest (115%) ranges of our population, 14 patients with venous thrombosis and a moderate antithrombin deficiency as the single thrombophilic defect, and two families with type I antithrombin deficiency who had neither mutations affecting exons or flanking regions, nor gross gene deletions. Our study confirmed the low genetic variability of SERPINC1 , particularly in the coding region, and its minor influence in the heterogeneity of antithrombin levels. Interestingly, in one family, we identified a g.2143 C>G transversion, located 170 bp upstream from the translation initiation codon. This mutation affected one of the four regions located in the minimal promoter that have potential regulatory activity according to previous DNase footprinting protection assays. Genotype-phenotype analysis in the affected family and reporter analysis in different hepatic cell lines demonstrated that this mutation significantly impaired, although it did not abolish, the downstream transcription. Therefore, this is the first mutation affecting a regulatory region of the SERPINC1 gene associated with antithrombin deficiency. Our results strongly sustain the inclusion of the promoter region of SERPINC1 in the molecular analysis of patients with antithrombin deficiency.
Thrombosis and Haemostasis 03/2012; 107(3):430-7. · 5.04 Impact Factor
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ABSTRACT: Factor VIIa (FVIIa), a trypsin-like serine protease, plays an essential role in haemostasis by initiating the coagulation in complex with its cofactor, tissue factor (TF). The TF pathway inhibitor is the main physiological inhibitor of FVIIa-TF complex, but FVIIa can also be inhibited by antithrombin, although little is known about this process. Functional analyses by second order kinetic determination and identification of FVIIa-antithrombin complex by electrophoresis, evaluating the effect of different cofactors: pentasaccharide, low molecular weight heparin (LMWH) and unfractionated heparin (UFH), confirmed that any activation of antithrombin significantly enhanced the inhibition of FVIIa. The analysis of the binding of FVIIa to heparin by surface plasmon resonance identified a high affinity interaction under physiologic conditions (K(D)=3.38 μM, with 0.15M of ionic strength) strongly dependent on Ca(2+) and ionic strength. This interaction was verified in cell models, indicating that FVIIa also binds to the surface of endothelial cells with similar requirements. Structural modeling suggests the presence of a potential exosite II in FVIIa. However, the binding of heparin did not display significant changes on both the intrinsic fluorescence and the associated functional consequences of FVIIa. These results indicate that FVIIa binds to exposed glycosaminglycans of the endothelium through an exosite II, structurally similar to that reported for thrombin and suggested for FIXa. This binding may favor its inhibition by antithrombin in the absence of TF, contributing to the physiological control of this protease. This process may also play an important role in the clearance of recombinant FVIIa administered to patients.
Thrombosis Research 02/2011; 127(2):154-60. · 2.44 Impact Factor