Purification and Characterization of Kaouthiagin, a von Willebrand Factor-Binding and -Cleaving Metalloproteinase from Naja kaouthia Cobra Venom

A von Willebrand factor (vWF)-binding and -cleaving metalloproteinase, termed “kaouthiagin”, was purified from the venom of cobra snake Naja kaouthia. Kaouthiagin is a monomer with a molecular mass of about 46 kDa and 51 kDa under non-reducing and reducing conditions, respectively, and the N-terminal amino acid sequence is homologous to high molecular mass snake venom metalloproteinases. Kaouthiagin bound to vWF in a divalent ion-independent manner, but the reduced kaouthiagin failed to interact with vWF, suggesting that the protein conformation maintained by intrachain-disulfide linkages of the molecule is essential for the binding to vWF. Neither botrocetin nor bitiscetin, vWF-binding modulators from another snake venom, interfered with the binding between kaouthiagin and vWF, but a monoclonal antibody VW92-3 specific to the N-terminal region of vWF (residues 1-910) inhibited the binding. Without affecting platelet GPIb/IX and GPIIb/IIIa, kaouthiagin specifically cleaved vWF between residues Pro-708 and Asp-709 in a divalent ion-dependent manner to diminish the multimeric structure of vWF in plasma, resulting in the loss of ristocetin-induced platelet aggregability and the collagen-binding activity of vWF. These results indicate that kaouthiagin is a unique metalloproteinase which specifically binds to and cleaves vWF at a specific site and that it will be a useful tool for functional dissection of vWF.