Heparin induced thrombocytopenia (HIT) is a severe complication of heparin therapy. It is generally accompanied by a paradoxical decrease in platelets leading to activation of platelets and of the coagulation system. HIT type I is a mild, transient, non-immune disorder. HIT type II is an immune-mediated reaction towards neo-antigen on PF4, which is platelet factor 4 (PF4) that is exposed upon b...

Porcine mucosal heparin was fragmented into low-molecular-weight (LMW) heparin by treatment of periodate-oxidized heparin with sodium hydroxide, followed by reduction with sodium borohydride and acid hydrolysis. Gradient polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis analysis showed a mixture of heparin fragments with an average size of eight disaccharide units. 1D 1H NMR showed two-thirds of the N-acetyl ...

FSAP (Factor VII-activating protease) is a novel plasma-derived serine protease that regulates haemostasis as well as vascular cell proliferation. FSAP undergoes autoactivation in the presence of polyanionic macromolecules such as heparin and RNA. Competition experiments suggest that RNA and heparin bind to the same or overlapping interaction sites. A proteolysis approach, where FSAP was hydrol...