Fibrin Formation: The Role of the Fibrinogen-Fibrin Monomer Complex

Eric P. Brass; Walter B. Forman; Robert V. Edwards; Olgierd Lindan

doi:10.1055/s-0038-1648007

Thrombosis and Haemostasis, Table of Contents

Thromb Haemost 1976; 36(01): 037-048
DOI: 10.1055/s-0038-1648007

Original Article

Schattauer GmbH

Fibrin Formation: The Role of the Fibrinogen-Fibrin Monomer Complex^[*]

Authors

Eric P. Brass

¹Chemical Engineering Department, Hematology/Oncology Section Cleveland Veterans Administration Hospital and Department of Medicine and Pharmacology, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, Ohio
Walter B. Forman

¹Chemical Engineering Department, Hematology/Oncology Section Cleveland Veterans Administration Hospital and Department of Medicine and Pharmacology, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, Ohio
Robert V. Edwards

¹Chemical Engineering Department, Hematology/Oncology Section Cleveland Veterans Administration Hospital and Department of Medicine and Pharmacology, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, Ohio
Olgierd Lindan

¹Chemical Engineering Department, Hematology/Oncology Section Cleveland Veterans Administration Hospital and Department of Medicine and Pharmacology, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, Ohio

Abstract

Summary

The process of fibrin formation using highly purified fibrinogen and thrombin was studied using laser fluctuation spectroscopy, a method that rapidly determines particle size in a solution. Two periods in fibrin clot formation were noted: an induction period during which no fibrin polymerization occurred and a period of rapid increase in particle size. Direct measurement of fibrin monomer polymerization and fibrinopeptide release showed no evidence of an induction period. These observations were best explained by a kinetic model for fibrin clot formation incorporating a reversible fibrinogen-fibrin monomer complex. In this model, the complex serves as a buffer system during the earliest phase of fibrin formation. This prevents the accumulation of free polymerizable fibrin monomer until an appreciable amount of fibrinogen has reacted with thrombin, at which point the fibrin monomer level rises rapidly and polymerization proceeds. Clinically, the complex may be a homeostatic mechanism preventing pathological clotting during periods of elevated fibrinogen.

Full Text

References

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Fibrin Formation: The Role of the Fibrinogen-Fibrin Monomer Complex[*]

Authors

Fibrin Formation: The Role of the Fibrinogen-Fibrin Monomer Complex^[*]