Tissue factor (TF)-initiated coagulation plays a critical role in both hemostatsis and
thrombosis. It is generally believed that most of the tissue factor expressed on cell surfaces
is maintained in a cryptic, ie, coagulantly inactive state and an activation step (decryption) is
required for the expression of maximum TF procoagulant activity. However, what exactly
constitutes cryptic or procoagulant TF, molecular differences between these two forms and
mechanisms that are responsible for transformation from one to the other form are not …