PLATELET MEMBRANE-MEDIATED COAGULATION PROTEASE COMPLEX ASSEMBLY

Platelet membranes provide procoagulant surfaces for the assembly and expression of a variety of coagulation protease complexes. These assembled complexes promote the proteolytic activation of various coagulation proteins resulting in normal hemostasis. Recent studies from our laboratory and others indicate that platelets possess specific, high-affinity, saturable receptors for factor (F) XI, FXIa, FIX, FIXa, FX, FXa, FV FVa, prothrombin, and thrombin. The molecular mechanisms involved in the assembly of the intrinsic tenase and prothrombinase enzyme-cofactor complexes on platelet membranes are the subject of intense investigation. Whether the procoagulant surface of platelets is defined exclusively by procoagulant phospholipids, or whether specific protein receptors exist for the coagulant cofactors and proteases, is currently unresolved. In this article, we review some of these platelet receptor-mediated coagulation protein interactions and discuss platelet receptor-mediated F-X activation as a point of attack for the development of antithrombotic agents.