Lipid-protein interactions in blood coagulation

It has long been appreciated that lipids, particularly anionic phospholipid s, promote blood coagulation. The last two decades have seen an increasing insight into the kinetic and mechanistic aspects regarding the mode of acti on of phospholipids in blood coagulation. This essay attempts to review the se developments with particular emphasis on the structure of lipid-binding domains of blood coagulation proteins, and the variable effect of phospholi pid composition on the interaction with these proteins. Some examples are d iscussed of how lipid membranes direct the pathway of enzymatic conversions in blood coagulation complexes, also illustrating that the membrane lipid surface is more than an inert platform for the assembly of coagulation fact ors. Finally, the controlled exposure of procoagulant lipid on the surface of blood cells is shortly reviewed, and an example is discussed of how inte rference with lipid-protein interactions in blood coagulation may result in pathological phenomena. (C) 1998 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved .