1.   It forms in the bloodstream in response to an injury when the enzyme thrombin chemically cuts fibrinogen, a precursor of fibrin, and releases the fibrin.

2.   It protects the blood vessels by converting the enzyme thrombin from a clotting agent into an anticlotting agent.

3.   The gene that was studied is the blueprint for a protein called thrombomodulin, which converts the enzyme thrombin from a clotting agent into an anti-clotting agent.

4.   The gene that was studied is the blueprint for a protein called thrombomodulin, which converts the enzyme thrombin from a clotting agent into an anticlotting agent.