Anticoagulant venom and mammalian secreted phospholipases A(2): protein- versus phospholipid-dependent mechanism of action.

Some venom and mammalian-secreted phospholipases A(2) (sPLA(2)) have been described to exert an anticoagulant effect. This review will discuss and compare phospholipid-dependent versus protein-dependent mechanisms of action of these sPLA(2) on the coagulation cascade. The importance of venom proteins, and of the study of their pharmacological effects, to explore the physiological functions of homologous mammalian proteins is also pointed out.