A cDNA library prepared from human placenta was screened for sequences encoding the placental protein 4 (PP4). PP4 is an anticoagulant protein that acts as an indirect inhibitor of the thromboplastin-specific complex, which is involved in the blood coagulation cascade. Partial amino acid sequence information from PP4-derived cyanogen bromide fragments was used to design three oligonucleotide probes for screening the library. From 10(6)independent recombinants, 18 clones were identified that hybridized to all three probes. These 18 recombinants contained cDNA inserts encoding a protein of 320 amino acid residues. In addition to the PP4 cDNA we identified 9 other recombinants encoding a protein with considerable similarity (74%) TO PP4, which was termed PP4-X. PP4 and PP4-X belong to the lipocortin family, as judged by their homology to lipocortin I and calpactin I.