Studies on the relation between plasma antithrombin and heparin-cofactor
A method for the preparation of purified plasma antithrombin and heparin-cofactor is described. The method involves adsorption by aluminium hydroxide, separation on a DEAE-cellulose column by means of a graded salt concentration, and vertical curtain electrophoresis. A 100-fold increase in the specific activity of antithrombin and a 30-fold increase in the specific activity of heparin-cofactor have been achieved. In spite of the increased purification, no separation of the two activities was achieved. When a highly purified fraction was subjected to starch-gel electrophoresis for 16–18 h and then eluted from the gel, there was significant loss of heparin-cofactor activity but not of antithrombin activity. The electrophoretic patterns of the recovered proteins were not altered.