Cadmium increases tissue factor (coagulation factor III) activity by facilitating its reassociation with lipids.

The coagulant activity of partially purified and delipidated tissue factor (TF) (coagulation Factor III) has previously been recovered by dialysis of the apoprotein after addition of mixed brain lipids and deoxycholate. Inclusion of cadmium chloride in the relipidation mixture greatly increases the recovered activity of highly purified TF from human placenta by promoting incorporation of TF into phospholipid vesicles; TF that had not been incorporated into vesicles showed no coagulant activity. Thus, TF must be present in a lipid bilayer for expression of coagulant activity. In vitro, cadmium induces fusion of lipid vesicles and may contribute to the incorporation of proteins in membranes.