The binding of factor IX to cell membranes requires a structured N-terminal
-loopconformation that exposes hydrophobic residues for a highly regulated interaction with a phospholipid.We hypothesized that a peptide comprised of amino acids Gly4-Gln11 of factor IX (fIX
G4-Q11) andconstrained by an engineered disulfide bond would assume the native factor IX
-loop conformation inthe absence of Ca
2+. The small size and freedom from aggregation-inducing calcium interactions wouldmake fIX
G4-Q11 suitable for structural studies for eliciting details about phospholipid interactions. fIX
G4-Q11competes with factor IXa for binding sites on phosphatidylserine-containing membranes with a
Ki of 11
M and inhibits the activation of factor X by the factor VIIIa-IXa complex with a
Ki of 285
M. TheNMR structure of fIX
G4-Q11 reveals an
-loop backbone fold and side chain orientation similar to thosefound in the calcium-bound factor IX Gla domain, FIX(1-47)-Ca
2+. Dicaproylphosphatidylserine (C
6PS) induces HN, H
backbone, and H
chemical shift perturbations at residues Lys5, Leu6, Phe9, andVal10 of fIX
G4-Q11, while selectively protecting the NH
side chain resonance of Lys5 from solventexchange. NOEs between the aromatic ring protons of Phe9 and specific acyl chain protons of C
6P
Sindicate that these phosphatidylserine protons reside 3-6 Å from Phe9. Stabilization of the phosphoserineheadgroup and glycerol backbone of C
6PS identifies that phosphatidylserine is in a protected environmentthat is spatially juxtaposed with fIX
G4-Q11. Together, these data demonstrate that Lys5, Leu6, Phe9, andVal10 preferentially interact with C
6PS and allow us to correlate known hemophilia B mutations of factorIX at Lys5 or Phe9 with impaired phosphatidylserine interaction.