Electron microscopy and hydrodynamic properties of blood clotting factor V and activation fragments of factor V with phospholipid vesicles.

The electron microscopic and hydrodynamic properties of factor V and factor Va-vesicle complexes were determined. Images of negatively stained factor V bound to vesicles showed the protein as a relatively large globular domain (9.5 nm diameter) connected to the membrane through a narrow protein region 0.5-3 nm in length. This connecting region was not always visible and was measured as the distance between the globular region and the apparent vesicle edge. Factor V protein alone usually appeared as two connected globular regions of 10.2 and 6.5 nm diameter. The two-domain protein structure appeared consistent with both the image of factor V alone and bound to the membrane. Factor V had no biological activity in a phospholipid-free prothrombinase assay system used. The proteolytically activated form of factor V generated by digestion with thrombin (factor Va) was at least 30,000 times more active. The electron microscopic images of factor Va-vesicle complexes showed a smaller protein that was more closely associated with the vesicle surface than was factor V. The light chain (Mr about 80,000) component of factor Va also bound to the surface of the vesicles and appeared to be largely external to the membrane. Protein-induced hydrodynamic radius changes for the factor V-vesicle and factor Va-vesicle complexes were 12.8 and 6.3 nm, respectively. The images observed in the electron microscope were used to calculate protein-induced radius changes. Comparison of these values with the experimentally determined hydrodynamic radius changes showed approximate agreement for factor Va-membrane complexes. However, the images of factor V-vesicle complexes suggested smaller hydrodynamic radius changes than were actually observed.