Max-Planck-Institute for Biochemistry, Martinsried, Federal Republic of Germany.
The arrangement of the disulphide bridges in human low-Mr kininogen has been elucidated. Low-Mr kininogen contains 18 half-cystine residues forming nine disulphide bridges. The first and the last half-cystine residues of the amino acid sequence form a disulphide loop which spans the heavy- and the light-chain portion of the kininogen molecule. The other 16 half-cystine residues are linked consecutively to form eight loops of 4-20 amino acids; these loops are lined up in the heavy-chain portion of the kininogen molecule. In this way, a particular pattern of disulphide loops is formed which seems to be of critical importance for the inhibitor function of human kininogen.