Summary
Colistin electrostatically interacts with lipopolysaccharides (LPS). Preclinical studies
demonstrated beneficial effects of colistin on LPS-induced coagulation and fibrinolysis.
The objective of this trial was to investigate the effects of colistin during experimental
endotoxaemia. In this randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled, crossover trial
16 healthy volunteers received a 2 ng/kg LPS bolus after infusion of 2.5 million IU
colistin or placebo. Plasma levels of F1+2 prothrombin fragments, thrombin-antithrombin
complexes (TAT), von Willebrand factor antigen levels (vWF), E-selectin, plasmin-antiplasmin
complexes (PAP), tissue-type plasminogen activator (t-PA) antigen and activity, plasminogen
activator inhibitor-1 (PAI-1) were measured. Infusion of colistin significantly reduced
peak concentrations of PAP complexes by 70 %, t-PA antigen levels by 63 % and t-PA
activity by 48 %, while PAI-1 levels decreased numerically by 63 %. Two hours after
the LPS bolus F1+2 levels and TAT complexes were slightly reduced in the colistin
period, but peak concentrations were similar in both periods. Colistin blunted the
LPS induced four-fold increase in soluble E-Selectin levels by ∼50 % and the two-fold
increase in vWF antigen levels by ∼70 %. The LPS-scavenging actions of colistin significantly
reduce endothelial activation and fibrinolytic response in the human endotoxaemia
model, while the activation of the coagulation system remains largely unaffected.
Note: This work was conducted at the Medical University of Vienna.
EudraCT-Nr.: 2014–00285720
Supplementary Material to this article is available online at http://www.thrombosis-online.com
Keywords
Coagulation - colistin - endotoxaemia - fibrinolysis - endothelial cells