Convulxin (CVX), a C-type snake protein from Crotalus durissus terrificus venom, is the
quintessential agonist for studies of the collagen receptor, glycoprotein VI (GPVI) and its role
in platelet adhesion to collagens. In this study, CVX, purified from venom, behaves as
expected, ie it binds to platelet GPVI and recombinant human GPVI, induces platelet
aggregation and platelet prothrombinase activity, and binds uniquely to GPVI in ligand blots
of SDS-denatured proteins. Nonetheless, we find that CVX has a dual specificity for both …