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Background: Circulating microparticles of various cell types are present in healthy individuals and, in varying numbers and antigenic composition, in various disease states. To what extent these microparticles contribute to coagulation in vivois unknown. Objectives: To examine the in vivothrombogenicity of human microparticles. Methods: Microparticles were isolated from pericardial blood of cardiac surgery patients and venous blood of healthy individuals. Their numbers, cellular source, and tissue factor (TF) exposure were determined using flow cytometry. Their in vitroprocoagulant properties were studied in a fibrin generation test, and their in vivothrombogenicity in a rat model. Results: The total number of microparticles did not differ between pericardial samples and samples from healthy individuals (P = 0.786). In both groups, microparticles from platelets, erythrocytes, and granulocytes exposed TF. Microparticle-exposed TF antigen levels were higher in pericardial compared with healthy individual samples (P = 0.036). Pericardial microparticles were strongly procoagulant in vitroand highly thrombogenic in a venous stasis thrombosis model in rats, whereas microparticles from healthy individuals were not [thrombus weights 24.8 (12.2–41.3) mg vs. 0 (0–24.3) mg median and range; P < 0.001]. Preincubation of pericardial microparticles with an inhibitory antibody against human TF abolished their thrombogenicity [0 (0–4.4) mg; P < 0.01], while a control antibody had no effect [19.6 (12.6–53.7) mg; P > 0.05]. The thrombogenicity of the microparticles correlated strongly with their TF exposure (r = 0.9524, P = 0.001). Conclusions: Human cell-derived microparticles promote thrombus formation in vivoin a TF-dependent manner. They might be the direct cause of an increased thromboembolic tendency in various patient groups.

Orgaran is a mixture of glycosaminoglycans extracted from animal mucosa. It consists of heparan, dermatan and chondroitin sulfate; a small proportion of heparan sulfate (4%) has high affinity for antithrombin III (AT III). Orgaran is devoid of heparin or heparin fragments. Orgaran catalyses the inactivation of factor Xa and thrombin. Compared to heparin and most low-molecular-weight heparins, Orgaran has a much higher anti-Xa/anti-IIa ratio. The inactivation of factor Xa is mediated by AT III and that of thrombin by both AT III and heparin cofactor II. Compared to heparin, which is a strong inhibitor of thrombin generation, Orgaran has only moderate inhibitory effects on thrombin generation. Orgaran shows minimal or no effects on platelet function in vitro or in vivo. It inhibits the formation of various types of thrombi (clot-like and mixed thrombi) with approximately the same potency as heparin. Both the high- and low-affinity fraction for AT III contribute to the antithrombotic activity. In contrast to heparin, Orgaran does not inhibit platelet deposition in experimental mixed thrombi unless very high doses of the heparinoid are used. Orgaran is more efficacious than heparin in preventing the extension of established venous thrombosis. Orgaran promotes less bleeding-enhancing activity than heparin in various experimental models. In addition, compared to heparin, it has only minimal effects on platelet degranulation during hemostatic plug formation. In vivo studies in experimental animals have demonstrated that at equivalent anti-Xa doses, the effect of Orgaran on thrombosis inhibition lasts considerably longer than that of heparin; in contrast, the effect of Orgaran on bleeding is less marked and of much shorter duration than that seen with heparin. Based on these observations, Orgaran has a significantly better risk/benefit ratio than heparin.