Original basic research

A new method to determine tissue specific tissue factor thrombomodulin activities: endotoxin and particulate air pollution induced disbalance

Kim Frederix¹ , Ingeborg M Kooter³ , René van Oerle^1,2 , Diane Fens¹ , Karly Hamulyak² , Miriam E Gerlofs-Nijland³ , Hugo ten Cate¹ and Henri MH Spronk¹

¹  Department of Internal Medicine, Laboratory for Clinical Thrombosis and Haemostasis, Cardiovascular Research Institute Maastricht, Maastricht University, Maastricht, The Netherlands

²  Department of Internal Medicine, Division of Haematology, University Hospital Maastricht, Maastricht, The Netherlands

³  Centre for Environmental Health Research, National Institute for Public Health and the Environment, Bilthoven, The Netherlands

author email corresponding author email

Thrombosis Journal 2008, 6:14doi:10.1186/1477-9560-6-14

Published:	1 October 2008

Abstract

Background

Increase in tissue factor (TF) and loss in thrombomodulin (TM) antigen levels has been described in various inflammatory disorders. The functional consequences of such changes in antigen concentrations in the coagulation balance are, however, not known. This study was designed to assess the consequences of inflammation-driven organ specific functional properties of the procoagulant response.

Methods

Tissue specific procoagulant activity was assessed by adding tissue homogenate to normal human pool plasma and recording of the thrombin generation curve. The new technique was subsequently applied on two inflammation driven animal models: 1) mouse lipopolysaccharide (LPS) induced endotoxemia and 2) spontaneously hypertensive rats exposed to environmental air pollution (particulate matter (PM).

Results

Addition of lung tissue from untreated animals to human plasma suppressed the endogenous thrombin potential (ETP) (175 ± 61 vs. 1437 ± 112 nM.min for control). This inhibitory effect was due to TM, because a) it was absent in protein C deficient plasma and b) lungs from TM^pro/pro mice allowed full thrombin generation (ETP: 1686 ± 209 nM.min). The inhibitory effect of TM was lost after LPS administration to mice, which induced TF activity in lungs of C57Bl/6 mice as well as increased the ETP (941 ± 523 vs. 194 ± 159 nM.min for control). Another pro-inflammatory stimulus, PM dose-dependently increased TF in the lungs of spontaneously hypertensive rats at 4 and 48 hours after PM exposure. The ETP increased up to 48 hours at the highest concentration of PM (1441 ± 289 nM.min vs. saline: 164 ± 64 nM.min, p < 0.0001), suggesting a concentration- and time dependent reduction in TM activity.

Conclusion

Inflammation associated procoagulant effects in tissues are dependent on variations in activity of the TF-TM balance. The application of these novel organ specific functional assays is a useful tool to monitor inflammation-driven shifts in the coagulation balance within animal or human tissues.