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Maureane Hoffman

Publications and source records attributed to Maureane Hoffman.

9 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2003

The action of high-dose factor VIIa (FVIIa) in a cell-based model of hemostasis.

We have developed a cell-based model of hemostasis. This model suggests that the defect in hemophilia is specifically a failure of platelet-surface factor Xa (FXa) generation, leading to a failure of platelet surface thrombin generation. Activation of FX by FVIIa/tissue factor (TF) does not compensate for a lack of FXa activation on the platelet surface by the FVIIIa/FIXa complex. This is because plasma protease inhibitors prevent FXa from moving through the fluid phase from the TF-bearing cell to the platelet surface. We have previously proposed a platelet-dependent mechanism of action for high-dose factor VIIa (FVIIa; Novoseven, Novo Nordisk, Copenhagen, Denmark). Our data suggest that, when present at high levels, FVIIa binds to activated platelets and activates small amounts of FX independent of TF. This platelet-surface FXa can partially restore platelet-surface thrombin generation in hemophilia. Recently, van't Veer and colleagues reported results from an in vitro model in which coagulation reactions were initiated by relipidated TF. The authors concluded that high-dose FVIIa may exert a hemostatic effect in hemophilia by overcoming inhibition of FVIIa/TF activity by zymogen FVII. By contrast, we found that plasma levels of FVII did not slow thrombin generation in a model system initiated with cell-associated TF. This discrepancy highlights the potential differences between the studies of the coagulation reactions assembled on living cells compared to phospholipid vesicles. Our data suggest that in a cellular system high-dose FVIIa acts primarily by enhancing the rate of thrombin generation on platelet surfaces and not by overcoming inhibition by zymogen FVII of TF-dependent activation of FX.

Animals↗
PubMed2003

New insights into the coagulation system and implications for new therapeutic options with recombinant factor VIIa.

The classical model of the coagulation cascade is to be replaced by a new, cell based model of coagulation emphasizing the interaction of coagulation proteins with cell surfaces of platelets subendothelial cells and the endothelium. According to current knowledge hemostasis is initiated by the formation of a complex between tissue factor (TF) exposed as a result of a vessel wall injury, and already activated factor (F) VII (FVIIa) normally present in the circulating blood. The TF-FVIIa complexes convert FX into FXa on the TF bearing cell. FXa then activates prothrombin (FII) into thrombin (FIIa). This limited amount of thrombin activates FVIII, FV, FXI and platelets. Thrombin-activated platelets change shape and as a result will expose negatively charged phospholipids, which form the perfect template for full thrombin generation involving FVIIIa and FIXa. Thrombin also converts fibrinogen into fibrin, it activates the fibrin stabilizing FXIII, as well as the thrombin activatable fibrinolysis inhibitor (TAFI). The fibrin structure has been found to be dependent on the amount of thrombin formed and the rate of thrombin generation. Full thrombin generation is necessary for the formation of a tight, stable fibrin hemostatic plug resistant to premature fibrinolysis which is required for full and sustained hemostasis. Since thrombin has such a crucial role in providing hemostasis, any agent that enhances thrombin generation in situations with impaired thrombin formation may be characterized as a 'general hemostatic agent' - a term that has been applied to recombinant activated FVII. Recombinant coagulation factor VIIa (rFVIIa; NovoSeven(R)) was originally developed and approved for the treatment of bleeding episodes and the prevention of bleeding during surgery in hemophilia patients with inhibitors and in patients with auto-antibodies against FVIII or FIX (acquired hemophilia). As rFVIIa in pharmacological doses enhances thrombin generation on activated platelets, it has been suggested that rFVIIa may also help to improve hemostasis in other situations involving impaired thrombin generation. This is substantiated by the accumulation of published data indicating that rFVIIa is able to control bleeding in patients with thrombocytopenia or platelet function deficiencies as well as in patients without pre-existing coagulopathies.

Blood Coagulation↗
PubMed2002

Elevated prothrombin results in clots with an altered fiber structure: a possible mechanism of the increased thrombotic risk.

Individuals with elevated prothrombin levels are at increased risk of venous thrombosis. To understand the mechanism behind this observation, we studied the effect of prothrombin concentration on thrombin generation and fibrin clot structure. The pattern of thrombin generation was directly related to the prothrombin level at all concentrations tested. From 0% to 300% of normal plasma levels of prothrombin, increasing the prothrombin concentration increased the initial rate, peak, and total amount of thrombin generated. Importantly, fibrin clot structure was also affected by the prothrombin concentration. Fibrin clots made from prothrombin concentrations less than 10% of plasma levels were weak and poorly formed. Fibrin clots made at 10% to 100% of plasma levels of prothrombin had similar fiber structures (mass-to-length ratio; mu). However, the fiber mass-to-length ratio decreased with increasing prothrombin levels more than 100% of plasma levels, in a dose-dependent manner. These results suggest that increased levels of prothrombin alter thrombin generation and clot structure. Specifically, elevated prothrombin levels produce clots with reduced fibrin mass-to-length ratios compared with normal clots. We hypothesize that this alteration in fibrin clot structure is an important determinant of the risk of thrombosis.

Blood Coagulation↗
PubMed2002

Platelets and thrombin generation.

This review examines the evidence that platelets play a major role in localizing and controlling the burst of thrombin generation leading to fibrin clot formation. From the first functional description of platelets, it has been recognized that platelets supply factors that support the activation of prothrombin. Studies have demonstrated that on activation, the amount of one specific lipid, phosphatidylserine, is significantly increased on the outer leaflet of platelet membranes. When it was found that phosphatidylserine containing lipid extracts could be substituted for platelets in clotting assays, this suggested the possibility that changes in platelet lipid composition were necessary and sufficient to account for platelet surface thrombin generation. Because a growing body of data suggest that platelet-binding proteins provide much of the specificity for platelet thrombin generation, we review in this report data suggesting that changes in lipid composition are necessary but not sufficient to account for platelet surface regulation of thrombin generation. Also, we review data suggesting that platelets from different individuals differ in their capacity to generate thrombin, whereas platelets from a single subject support thrombin generation in a reproducible manner. Individual differences in platelet thrombin generation might be accounted for by differences in platelet-binding proteins.

Animals↗
PubMed2002

Activated protein C cleaves factor Va more efficiently on endothelium than on platelet surfaces.

The protein C/protein S system is known to regulate thrombin generation in vivo by cleaving factors Va and VIIIa. We have examined the activity of activated protein C in several tissue factor-initiated models of coagulation. We used 4 models: monocytes as the tissue factor source with platelets as the thrombin-generating surface; endothelial cells as the tissue factor source with platelets as the thrombin-generating surface; endothelial cells as both the tissue factor source and the thrombin-generating surface; and relipidated tissue factor with lipid vesicles providing the surface for thrombin generation. With the lipid surface, activated protein C dose-dependently reduced thrombin generation. Similarly, when endothelial cells provided the only surface for thrombin generation, activated protein C dose-dependently decreased thrombin generation significantly. By contrast, whenever platelets were present, activated protein C only minimally affected the amount of thrombin generated. When endothelial cells were the tissue factor source with platelets providing the surface for thrombin generation, activated protein C did increase the time until the burst of thrombin generation but had minimal effects on the total amount of thrombin generated. Activated protein C had essentially no effect on thrombin generation when monocytes were the tissue factor source with platelets providing the surface for thrombin generation. From the studies reported here, we conclude that in vivo, despite the important role of the protein C system in regulating thrombosis, activated protein C does not serve as a primary regulator of platelet-dependent thrombin generation.

Blood Coagulation↗
PubMed2002

Circulating and binding characteristics of wild-type factor IX and certain Gla domain mutants in vivo.

Residue K5 in factor IX gamma-carboxyglutamic acid (Gla) domain participates in binding endothelial cells/collagen IV. We injected recombinant factor IX containing mutations at residue 5 (K5A, K5R) into factor IX-deficient mice and compared their behavior with that of wild-type factor IX. The plasma concentration of factor IX that binds to endothelial cells/collagen IV (recombinant wild type and K5R) was consistently lower than that of the one that does not bind (K5A). Mice treated with wild type or K5R had 79% of the injected factor IX in the liver after 2 minutes, whereas 17% remained in circulation. In mice injected with K5A, 59% of the injected factor IX was found in liver and 31% was found in plasma. When we blocked the liver circulation before factor IX injection, 74% of K5A and 64% of K5R remained in the blood. When we treated the mouse with EDTA after injecting exogenous factor IX, the blood levels of factor IX that bind to endothelial cells/collagen IV increased, presumably because of release from endothelial cell/collagen IV binding sites. In contrast, the levels of the mutants that do not bind were unaffected by EDTA. In immunohistochemical studies, factor IX appears on the endothelial surfaces of mouse arteries after factor IX injection and of human arteries from surgical specimens. Thus, we have demonstrated that factor IX binds in vivo to endothelial cell-collagen IV surfaces. Our results suggest that factor IX Gla-domain mediated binding to endothelial cells/collagen IV plays a role in controlling factor IX concentration in the blood.

Animals↗
PubMed2002

Recombinant activated factor VII: its mechanism of action and role in the control of hemorrhage.

PURPOSE: Recombinant activated factor VII (rFVIIa) has proven both safe and efficacious in the treatment of bleeding episodes in patients with hemophilia A or B who have developed inhibitors. More recently, a growing number of reports suggests that rFVIIa may also have indications for the treatment of bleeding in patients with other hemostatic disorders, including qualitative and quantitative platelet defects, factor deficiencies other than hemophilia, and in otherwise healthy patients with uncontrollable hemorrhage following surgery or trauma. We have attempted to reconcile the various proposed mechanisms of action of rFVIIa with its apparent efficacy in such diverse clinical settings. SOURCE: A review of the literature was performed to determine those clinical scenarios in which rFVIIa appears to have been effective in controlling associated hemorrhage. PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: Findings from our group and others have demonstrated that rFVIIa is able to directly activate factor X and increase thrombin production on the surface of activated platelets in the absence of factor VIII or IX, as well as to improve thrombin generation in thrombocytopenia, and to yield a fibrin dot more resistant to fibrinolysis in vitro. CONCLUSIONS: Through these primary mechanisms, we believe that rFVIIa may be able to compensate for a variety of defects in hemostasis and merits further investigation as a general therapeutic for uncontrollable hemorrhage.

Blood Coagulation↗