Functional analysis of the serpin domain of C1 inhibitor

To analyze the role of the heavily glycosylated amino-terminal domain of C1 inhibitor in protease inhibitory activity, two truncated C1 inhibitor molecules were constructed. The abilities of the recombinant truncated inhibitors to complex with target proteases were compared with that of the wild-type recombinant protein. One recombinant truncated molecule consisted of amino acid residues 76 to 478 (C-serp(76)) and the other of residues 98 to 478 (C-serp(98)). The recombinant proteins were each expressed in similar quantities. The thermal denaturation profiles of the two truncated proteins were similar to that of the wild-type protein. Identical binding of C1s, C1r, kallikrein, and beta factor XIIa was observed with the three molecules. Furthermore, the truncated molecules also effectively inhibited C1 activity in hemolytic assays. These studies therefore clearly demonstrate that the amino-terminal domain of C1 inhibitor does not influence complex formation with target proteases.