SummaryThe adsorption of thrombin to fibrin during clotting defines “Antithrombin I” activity. We confirmed that thrombin generation in afibrinogenemic or in Reptilase defibrinated normal plasma was higher than in normal plasma. Repletion of these fibrinogen-deficient plasmas with fibrinogen 1 (‘γA/’γA), whose fibrin has two “low affinity” non-substrate thrombin binding sites, resulted in moderately reduced thrombin generation by 29-37%. Repletion with fibrinogen 2 (‘γ´/’γA), which in addition to low affinity thrombin-binding sites in fibrin, has a “high affinity” non-substrate thrombin binding site in the carboxy-terminal region of its ‘γ´ chain, was even more effective and reduced thrombin generation by 57-67%. Adding peptides that compete for thrombin binding to fibrin [S-Hir53-64 (hirugen) or ‘γ´ 414-427] caused a transient delay in the onset of otherwise robust thrombin generation, indicating that fibrin formation is necessary for full expression of Antithrombin I activity. Considered together, 1) the increased thrombin generation in afibrinogenemic or fibrinogen-depleted normal plasma that is mitigated by fibrinogen replacement; 2) evidence that prothrombin activation is increased in afibrinogenemia and normalized by fibrinogen replacement; 3) the severe thrombophilia that is associated with defective thrombin-binding in dysfibrinogenemias Naples I and New York I, and 4) the association of afibrinogenemia or hypofibrinogenemia with venous or arterial thromboembolism, indicate that Antithrombin I (fibrin) modulates thromboembolic potential by inhibiting thrombin generation in blood.Presented in part at the XVII Congress of the ISTH, Washington, D. C. (1)

SummaryProthrombin Perijá is a dysprothrombin derived from a homozygous patient that manifests low thrombin activity upon activation in a onestage assay. Purified prothrombin Perijá showed normal appearance on SDS-PAGE, and was cleaved normally to form α-thrombin by the prothrombinase complex. The activated form, thrombin Perijá, however, did not show any proteolytic activity towards native substrates, fibrinogen, protein C or various synthetic substrates for α-thrombin, but it was able to bind to antithrombin III, although the binding capacity was markedly reduced even in the presence of heparin. Thrombin Perijá showed full reactivity toward a small inhibitor, DFP, indicating that the molecular defect is in the substrate binding site in the thrombin molecule but not in the active site itself. By DNA sequence analysis of the patient prothrombin gene, we identified a G to C mutation at nucleotide 20016 in exon 14, which predicts a Gly-548 to Ala substitution in the prothrombin Perijá molecule. The structural modeling of thrombin Perijá suggests that Ala-548 is located close to the limb of the cavity wall of the substrate binding pocket, and that the methyl group blocks protrusion of the guanidino group of Arg into the cavity. This steric hindrance may well inhibit the access of Arg-containing substrates to the catalytic Ser-525 leading to the loss of proteolytic activity.