Activated protein C correlates inversely with thrombin levels in resting healthy individuals

✍ Scribed by Fernández, José A.; Petäjä, Jari; Gruber, András; Griffin, John H.

• Book ID: 101214618
• Publisher: John Wiley and Sons
• Year: 1997
• Tongue: English
• Weight: 31 KB
• Volume: 56
• Category: Article
• ISSN: 0361-8609
• DOI: 10.1002/(sici)1096-8652(199709)56:1<29::aid-ajh6>3.0.co;2-4

✦ Synopsis

To study whether the circulating anticoagulant, activated protein C (APC), could be a regulator of thrombin activity in basal physiological conditions, fibrinopeptide A and activated protein C levels were determined in samples from 40 healthy individuals. There was a significant inverse correlation between the fibrinopeptide A and APC levels (Spearman rank correlation R = -0.487; P = 0.0023). Because of well-known mechanisms by which decreasing APC levels could cause increased thrombin formation, we suggest that APC may downregulate thrombin activity in subjects with normal protein C levels. Regulation of thrombin formation in health is likely significant for maintaining vascular patency but its molecular mechanisms are poorly understood. The current data suggest that a single physiological anticoagulant, namely APC, may be a significant regulator of procoagulant thrombin activity. Am.