Glu192-->Gln substitution in thrombin yields an enzyme that is effectively inhibited by bovine pancreatic trypsin inhibitor and tissue factor pathway inhibitor.

Modeling studies have ascribed the remarkable resistance of thrombin to inhibition by the Kunitz type inhibitors, bovine pancreatic trypsin inhibitor (BPTI), and tissue factor pathway inhibitor (TFPI), to steric inhibition by the 60-loop insertion, especially Trp60D (in the chymotrypsin numbering system). Indeed, deletion of Pro60B, Pro60C, and Trp60D from this loop (des-PPW) enhances BPTI inhibition (Ki = 16 nM) (Le Bonniec, B. F., Guinto, E. R., MacGillivray, R. T. A., Stone, S. R., and Esmon, C. T. (1993) J. Biol. Chem. 268, 19055-19061). Activated protein C, however, lacks an equivalent insertion loop but is nevertheless resistant to inhibition by these Kunitz inhibitors. A unique feature of thrombin and activated protein C is the presence of Glu at position 192. Substitution of Glu192 with Gln in activated protein C dramatically enhances inhibition by BPTI and TFPI (Rezaie, A. and Esmon, C. T. (1993) J. Biol. Chem. 268, 19943-19948). We now demonstrate that thrombin E192Q (the Glu192-->Gln mutant) is inhibited by BPTI (Ki = 24 nM) or TFPI (Ki = 14 nM) much more effectively than wild type thrombin (Ki > 1 microM for both inhibitors). A thrombin mutant having both the des-PPW deletion and E192Q substitution binds BPTI (Ki = 35 pM) and TFPI (Ki = 25 pM) even tighter. BPTI can displace dansylarginine N-(-3-ethyl-1,5-pentanediyl)-amide from the active site of thrombin E192Q (Ki = 19 nM), indicating that BPTI interacts directly with the S1 binding site in thrombin. The E192Q mutation and PPW deletion contribute comparably and additively to the binding energy of thrombin with the Kunitz inhibitors. We suggest that access to the active center of thrombin is less restricted than predicted from previous studies.