Deletion mutagenesis of high molecular weight kininogen light chain. Identification of two anionic surface binding subdomains.

Abstract

The light chain (LC) of cleaved high molecular weight kininogen (HK) binds to anionic surfaces as well as the zymogens prekallikrein and factor XI and thus accelerates activation of the kallikrein-kinin, fibrinolytic, and coagulation pathways. The binding sites on HK LC for factor XI (amino acid residues 574-631) and prekallikrein (residues 583-613) have been localized to domain 6. Domain 5 (residues 438-520) has been postulated to contain the anionic surface binding subdomain. In order to define this subdomain we have expressed HK LC (residues Lys438-Ser644) as a fusion protein with glutathione-S-transferase (GST) in Escherichia coli and generated various HK LC deletion mutants. The recombinant HK LC (rHK LC) and various HK LC fragments were purified as GST fusion proteins by glutathione-Sepharose affinity chromatography from bacterial cell extracts. The rHK LC and recombinant fragments His459-Ser644, Glu466-Ser644, Leu483-Ser644, His493-Ser644, Lys438-Asp492, Lys438-Ser531, and His493-Lys520 inhibited 125I-HKa binding to kaolin, a model anionic surface used in the contact system, in a concentration-dependent manner. Deletion mutant proteins lacking domain 5, Thr521-Ser644 and Ser583-Ser644, did not inhibit the radiolabeled HKa binding to kaolin. The rHK LC and recombinant fragments Lys438-Asp492, Lys438-Ser531, His493-Ser644, His493-Lys520, Thr521-Ser644, and Ser583-Ser644 were radiolabeled with 125I and were then tested for their ability to bind to kaolin in the presence of fibrinogen and albumin. Except for the Thr521-Ser644 and Ser583-Ser644 fragments, all other radiolabeled HK LC deletion mutant proteins and rHK LC bound to kaolin in a concentration-dependent manner. This binding to kaolin was specific since it was inhibited by the addition of excess unlabeled HKa. The rHK LC, His493-Ser644 and delta 493-520 HK LC have coagulant activity, while other deletion mutant proteins did not exhibit coagulant properties. We conclude that there are at least two anionic surface binding subdomains, one in the histidine-glycine-rich region (Lys438-Asp492) and the other in the histidine-glycine-lysine-rich region (His493-Lys520), in the domain 5 of HK LC. Either subdomain, in the presence of the zymogen binding domain 6, is sufficient to impart coagulant activity to HK LC, while the presence of both did not increase the coagulant activity of HK LC additively.