| abstract |
A new circulating foml of soluble human tissue factor was identified. This new foml of human tissue factor appears to be the result of alternative splicing and is therefore referred to as 'alt-hTF.' Alt-hTF mRNA was detected in a cell line, HL-60. The cDNA region encoding the entire open reading frame of alt-hTF was cloned. The sequence encoding the alt-hTF mature peptide was expressed in bacteria. alt-hTF consists of the first 166 amino acids of membrane bound TF, and a 40 amino acid C-temlinal region unique to alt-hTF. Alt-hTF is likely to be a useful target for compounds to inhibit clotting and to treat disorders associated with elevated TF. It may also be useful as a target for antibodies selectively reactive with alt-hTF, to remove it from the circulation for treatment of clotting or other disorders associated with elevated or abnomlallevels of TF, including thrombotic conditions, cardiovascular disorders, DVT, DIC, and possibly metastatic cancers. |