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Protein S is a plasma glycoprotein requiring vitamin K for normal biosynthesis and functioning as a cofactor of activated protein C, a regulator of blood coagulation. Protein S contains four modules that are similar to the epidermal growth factor (EGF) precursor. Qualitative Ca2+-binding experiments have indicated that the EGF-module region of bovine protein S harbors high-affinity Ca2+-binding sites. We have chemically synthesized the third and fourth EGF modules from human protein S, which both have the sequence motif associated with Ca2+-binding and Asp/Ash β-hydroxylation. Both modules were folded to a native conformation, as judged by immunochemical experiments and NMR spectroscopy. Ca2+bind- ing to the modules was monitored with 1H-NMR spectroscopy. At physiological pH and 0.15 M NaCl, each module was found to have a single Ca2+-binding site with low affinity, i.e. Ka values of 6.1 mM for the third and 8.6 mM for the fourth EGF module. At low salt conditions the Ca2+ affinities are 5.2 mM and 0.6 mM, respectively. This Ca2+ affinity is similar to that of the isolated N-terminal EGF module from coagulation factors IX and X. The very high affinity Ca2+ binding to the EGF-module region of protein S thus appears to be due to the influence of neighboring modules. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]