Does Vitamin K Activate Factor 7 in Blood Clotting?
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4 min read
Approximately 13 proteins are necessary for blood clotting, and Factor VII is one of the most important. However, it is not vitamin K that directly activates Factor 7, but rather the vitamin acts as an essential cofactor for the enzyme that modifies the inactive precursor into its functional, active form. This post-translational modification is a crucial step in the coagulation cascade, specifically the extrinsic pathway.
