Journal Article

Tissue factor procoagulant activity of plasma microparticles in patients with cancer-associated disseminated intravascular coagulation

Langer, Florian, Marx, Guy, Brümmendorf, Tim H., Spath, Brigitte, Dierlamm, Judith, Holstein, Katharina, Haubold, Katja, Bokemeyer, Carsten, Eifrig, Barbara, Wierecky, Jan

2008

Overview

Tissue factor (TF) expressed on sub-cellular membrane vesicles, so-called plasma microparticles (MPs), has recently emerged as a potential key player in intravascular coagulation activation in various disease states. In this report, we demonstrate significantly increased levels of TF-specific procoagulant activity (PCA) of plasma MPs in five patients presenting with overt disseminated intravascular coagulation (DIC) due to an underlying malignancy, including non-small-cell lung cancer ( n  = 1), melanoma ( n  = 1), prostate cancer ( n  = 2), and acute promyelocytic leukemia ( n  = 1). Clotting experiments on available tumor cell samples suggested that cancer cells were a potential source of circulating TF-positive MPs at least in three of the five patients. Furthermore, follow-up plasma samples from two surviving patients revealed that response of their malignancies to specific anti-cancer therapy was paralleled by resolution of overt DIC and a significant decline in MP-associated TF PCA. Levels of plasma TF antigen, as assessed by an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay, were also increased at presentation albeit to a lesser extent compared to MP-associated TF PCA, likely due to insufficient solubilization of the phospholipid-incorporated full-length TF molecule by the detergent. In summary, our findings suggest that MP-associated TF PCA may play an important pathogenic role in the evolution of overt DIC in various types of malignancy.

• Publisher: Springer-Verlag,Springer Nature B.V
• Subject: Aged / Aged, 80 and over / Antithrombin III - metabolism / Antithrombins - metabolism / Disseminated Intravascular Coagulation - blood / Disseminated Intravascular Coagulation - etiology / Factor V - metabolism / Factor XIII - metabolism / Female / Fibrin Fibrinogen Degradation Products - metabolism / Fibrinogen - metabolism / Hematology / Humans / Male / Medicine / Medicine & Public Health / Middle Aged / Neoplasms - blood / Neoplasms - complications / Oncology / Original Article / Peptide Hydrolases - metabolism / Platelet Count / Thromboplastin - metabolism / Triazines - metabolism