“…Most researchers believe that a necessary condition for rate acceleration is the binding of heparin to AT [see Rosenberg & Damus (1973), Longas et al (1980), Blackburn & Sibley (1980), Feinman (1979), and references cited therein], although some evidence in the literature suggests that the enzyme might be the target for heparin, at least in the reaction with thrombin [see Smith (1977), Hatton & Regoeczi (1977), Machovich et al (1980), and references cited therein], A major question in current research is whether the binding of heparin to either protein alone is sufficient or whether a ternary heparin-AT-enzyme intermediate is needed for rapid formation of the final, stable enzyme-AT complex. Several groups have presented evidence that such a species is required [see Holmer et al (1979Holmer et al ( , 1981, Pomerantz & Owen (1978), Griffith (1982), and references cited therein], but other studies claim (Jordan et al, 1980) that any heparin-thrombin species f From the Department of Biochemistry, State University of New York Downstate Medical Center, Brooklyn, New York 11203. Received March 1,1983.…”