Purification, crystallization and preliminary crystallographic analysis of AHP IX-bp, a zinc ion and pH-dependent coagulation factor IX binding protein from Agkistrodon halys Pallas venom.

A new coagulation factor IX binding protein, AHP IX-bp, has been purified from Agkistrodon halys Pallas venom and estimated to be an AB heterodimer of about 25 kDa consisting of two chains (an A chain of 15.5 kDa and a B chain of 15 kDa) linked by one or more disulfide bonds. The N-terminal sequence of AHP IX-bp has been determined and aligned with C-type lectin-like proteins. The protein has a high sequence similarity to some snake-venom C-type lectin-like proteins. AHP IX-bp binds to coagulation factor IX but not to coagulation factor X. Moreover, AHP IX-bp shows binding to coagulation factor IX in both zinc ion-dependent and pH-dependent manners. The affinity between AHP IX-bp and coagulation factor IX is higher under neutral or weakly alkaline conditions than under weakly acidic conditions. Single crystals of AHP IX-bp grown at pH 6.5 and 7.5 diffract X-rays to 2.0 and 1.8 A resolution, respectively. Both crystals are isomorphous and belong to the space group P1; only one AB heterodimer is present in the unit cell.