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Cadmium increases tissue factor (coagulation factor III) activity by facilitating its reassociation with lipids
Science (New York, N.Y.)
|April 18, 1980
Summary
Tissue factor (TF), essential for blood coagulation, requires incorporation into lipid bilayers for its activity. Cadmium chloride enhances this process, significantly boosting TF
Area of Science:
- Biochemistry
- Molecular Biology
- Hematology
Background:
- Tissue Factor (TF), also known as coagulation Factor III, is crucial for initiating the extrinsic pathway of blood coagulation.
- Previous methods recovered TF activity by dialysis of apoprotein with lipids and deoxycholate.
- The precise structural requirements for TF's coagulant activity remained incompletely understood.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the role of lipid incorporation in TF's coagulant activity.
- To determine if TF requires a specific membrane environment for functional expression.
- To explore the effect of cadmium chloride on TF relipidation and activity.
Main Methods:
- Partially purified and delipidated TF (coagulation Factor III) was reconstituted with lipids.
- Cadmium chloride was included in the relipidation mixture.
- TF activity was measured after incorporation into phospholipid vesicles.
Main Results:
- Inclusion of cadmium chloride significantly increased recovered TF activity from human placenta.
- TF incorporated into phospholipid vesicles exhibited coagulant activity.
- TF not incorporated into vesicles showed no measurable coagulant activity.
Conclusions:
- Tissue factor must be present within a lipid bilayer to express its coagulant activity.
- Cadmium chloride promotes the incorporation of TF into phospholipid vesicles, enhancing its functional activity.
- This suggests a critical role for membrane integration in TF's biological function.