Protein S multimers and monomers each have direct anticoagulant activity

Plasma protein S (PS) is an essential anticoagulant that has activated protein C-independent, direct anticoagulant activity (PS-direct). It was reported that monomeric purified PS has poor PS-direct and that a subpopulation of multimeric purified PS has high PS-direct and high affinity for phospholipids. We independently examined the relative PS-direct and affinity for phospholipids of monomeric and multimeric PS and we obtained contrasting results.

Unpurified recombinant protein S (rPS) was monomeric and had PS-direct potency similar to that of both PS in plasma and multimeric affinity-purified PS, as measured in plasma assays for PS-direct and in thrombin-generation assays. Multimers of unpurified rPS were not induced by ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid (EDTA), pH 2.5, NaSCN, or barium adsorption/elution. Multimers were induced by chromatography in the presence of EDTA and thus may be concentration-dependent. In contrast to a different report, monomers, dimers, trimers, and higher-order PS forms were clearly separated in sedimentation velocity experiments and multimers were not dissociated by adding Ca(2+). Active plasma-derived and recombinant immunoaffinity-purified PS were fractionated into monomers and multimers. On a mass basis, monomers and multimers had similar specific PS-direct and ability to compete with prothrombinase components (factors Xa/Va) for limiting phospholipids. FXa ligand blotted to both monomers and multimers.

Plasma PS-direct is similar to that of affinity-purified PS and unpurified rPS. Under our conditions, monomeric and multimeric PS have similar PS-direct and ability to compete for phospholipids. Discordant earlier findings are likely due to loss of PS-direct during conventional purification procedures.