Hyperglycemia is associated with increased susceptibility to atherothrombotic stimuli. The glycocalyx, a layer of proteoglycans covering the endothelium, is involved in the protective capacity of the vessel wall. We therefore evaluated whether hyperglycemia affects the glycocalyx, thereby increasing vascular vulnerability. The systemic glycocalyx volume was estimated by comparing the distributi...

Using laser tweezers, we measured for the first time the forces of individual knob-into-hole interactions underlying fibrin polymerization. Exposure of A-knobs in desA-fibrin or its fragment from the central part of the molecule (N-terminal disulphide knot, NDSK) resulted in strong interactions with fibrinogen or fragment D (containing only a- and b-holes), producing a binding strength of appro...

When thrombin-mediated fibrin formation and tissue plasminogen activator (t-PA)-mediated fibrinolysis proceed in dynamic interaction, desA-(desB beta 1-42)-fragment X polymers are shown to be the predominant fibrin derivatives present during the rapid second phase of Glu1- and Lys78-plasminogen activation. To further investigate the effect of this intermediate, a method was developed for the pr...

BACKGROUND Diagnosis and treatment for venous thromboembolic disease (VTE) have evolved considerably through diagnostic and therapeutic innovations. Despite their considerable potential for enhancing care, however, the extent to which these innovations are being adopted in usual practice is unknown. We documented the infrastructure available in hospitals and health regions across Canada for pro...

While testing the effect of the (β15-66)(2) fragment, which mimics a pair of fibrin βN-domains, on the morphology of endothelial cells, we found that this fragment induces redistribution of vascular endothelial-cadherin in a process that is inhibited by the receptor-associated protein (RAP). Based on this finding, we hypothesized that fibrin may interact with members of RAP-dependent low-densit...

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE Plasma d-dimer levels, measured using a research laboratory assay, independently predict progressing ischemic stroke. We wished to confirm these findings using commercially available assays and to provide data to allow the design of intervention studies. METHODS We studied 219 consecutive acute ischemic stroke admissions of whom 54 (25%) met criteria for progressing str...

BACKGROUND Plasma fibrin d-dimer has been taken as a marker for thrombus. The aim of this study was to evaluate the relationship between d-dimer (DD) levels and left atrial spontaneous echo contrast (SEC)/left atrial thrombus (LAT). METHODS We identified clinical studies by systematic search of MEDLINE and EMBASE databases up to Feb 2016. All observational studies that considered DD as a stud...

In this issue of Blood, Guo and colleagues elucidate molecular details of a novel mechanism, linking the degradation of fibrin (but not fibrinogen) by plasmin to apoptosis of placental trophoblast cells. There is convincing evidence from the literature that disorders of the maternal coagulation system are associated with complications of pregnancy including fetal loss. In many studies, an assoc...