Oxidation of Methionine Residues in Coagulation Factor VIIa

The oxidation of the activated form of recombinant coagulation factor VII (FVIIa) by hydrogen peroxide has been studied. The three predominant oxidation products observed at pH 7.5 have been characterized as methionine sulfoxide derivatives of the parent protein involving two of the four methionine residues of the protein, Met298 and Met306. We conclude that oxidation of FVIIa with hydrogen peroxide only affects methionine residues and selectively oxidizes those which are readily accessible to the solvent. The oxidation process has been studied in the pH range 3.5–9.5. The total rate of oxidation of FVIIa as well as the formation of the three oxidation products is consistent over the pH interval 7.5–9.5. However, under acidic conditions, significant variations have been observed indicating a conformational change of FVIIa. Oxidized FVIIa had the same amidolytic activity as the native protein. The binding to soluble tissue factor (TF) was weaker after oxidation as manifested by a threefold increase in dissociation constant and the amidolytic activity in complex with soluble TF was 80% compared to that of native FVIIa. In complex with lipid surface TF, the rate of factor X activation catalyzed by oxidized FVIIa was also reduced by approximately 20% compared to that of native FVIIa. However, native and oxidized FVIIa appeared to bind lipidated TF with indistinguishable affinities.