After fibrin polymerization, activated Factor XIII catalyzes the formation of intermolecular cross-links between '-ychain pairs and also among two or more a-chains to form polymers. In this report we characterize the size and heterogeneity of a-chain polymers, establish the role of high concentrations of Factor XIII in determining the extent and rate of a-polymer formation, and also provide evi...

BACKGROUND Factor XIII plays an important role in the stabilization of the linkage between fibrins and in the pathophysiology of coronary artery disease (CAD). The association between factor XIII Val34Leu polymorphism and CAD risk remains controversial. METHODS We conducted a meta-analysis of 36 studies involving 26,940 cases and 34,694 controls. Subgroup analyses were performed with division...

Fibrinogen and factor XIII were measured in sixty-four women with recently detected gynaecological tumours. Twenty-six of these tumours were benign and 32 were malignant: of the last group, nine patients had metastases. No patient showed clinical signs of bleeding or thrombosis. A reference group consisted of 31 age-matched healthy women. For fibrinogen, no significant deviation between the pat...

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Factor XIII and fibrinogen are unusual among clotting factors in that neither is a serine protease. Fibrin is the main protein constituent of the blood clot, which is stabilized by factor XIIIa through an amide or isopeptide bond that ligates adjacent fibrin monomers. Many of the structural and functional features of factor XIII and fibrin(ogen) have been elucidated by protein and gene analysis...

Carbonic anhydrase (CA) is one of the most abundant proteins found in vertebrate erythrocytes with the majority of species expressing a low activity CA I and high activity CA II. However, several phylogenetic gaps remain in our understanding of the expansion of cytoplasmic CA in vertebrate erythrocytes. In particular, very little is known about isoforms from reptiles. The current study sought t...

A patient is described who had an inhibitor to coagulation factor XIII associated with serum autoantibodies to certain tissues. The relationship of these abnormal findings to practolol therapy suggests that this was practolol-induced lupus erythematosus. Further investigations delineating the site of action of the inhibitor to factor XIII are reported.

PREDICTING perioperative blood loss is traditionally fraught with great difficulties. Medical history is certainly crucial in the risk assessment of perioperative blood loss because it provides information on bleeding history, the use of antiplatelet drugs, and oral anticoagulation. However, so far there is no laboratory parameter that could reliably predict perioperative blood loss. According ...