abstract: Thrombus (blood clot) formation is at the roots of hemostasis and pathological thrombosis. Although many studies have successfully elucidated the cellular and molecular mechanisms underlying thrombus formation, there is still a void in understanding the processes limiting thrombus growth beyond that needed for stabilization. As a hemostatic thrombus grows, its surface consisting primarily of platelets changes to that composed of fibrin, which mechanically stabilizes the thrombus. Formation of fibrin ceases after some time; however, it is unclear why this fibrin is non-thrombogenic. This is puzzling since fibrin is known to support strong integrin-mediated adhesion of both platelets and leukocytes in vitro. Therefore, it would be expected that the fibrin surface of hemostatic thrombi in the circulation also support accumulation of these cells and thus continuous thrombus growth or degradation. Nevertheless, many in vivo studies did not detect any accumulation of blood cells including platelets at the fibrin surfaces of thrombi. This finding suggests the existence of natural processes that modulate the adhesive properties of fibrin to ensure proper regulation of thrombus growth, stability and degradation. In this dissertation, I document and discuss the findings supporting the existence of anti-adhesive mechanisms and their physiological relevance in surface-mediated control of thrombus growth and stability. The studies discussed in my dissertation have the potential to establish a novel aspect of hemostasis. Furthermore, it may provide new insights into the intricate and dynamic interplay between the mechanisms underlying hemostatic balance, which is essential to understanding the dysfunction of this process during pathological conditions. / Dissertation/Thesis / Doctoral Dissertation Molecular and Cellular Biology 2016

Orientador: Edson Antunes / Dissertação (mestrado) - Universidade Estadual de Campinas, Faculdade de Ciencias Medicas / Made available in DSpace on 2018-08-13T23:37:17Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 BaldisseraJunior_Lineu_M.pdf: 826113 bytes, checksum: a2244710b71a5e86c7de35e81492c539 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2009 / Resumo: Há relatos de que as plaquetas desempenham função importante no desencadeamento da resposta inflamatória alérgica, como a asma brônquica. Entretanto, existem poucos estudos funcionais avaliando a interação plaqueta-asma. O objetivo deste trabalho foi investigar a função plaquetária em modelo de asma alérgica em ratos. Para tanto, ratos Wistar machos (180-200 g) foram sensibilizados à ovalbumina (OVA) e desafiados intranasalmente uma única vez, quatorze dias após a sensibilização. Para confirmar a eficácia da sensibilização à OVA, realizou-se a dosagem de IgE sérica e contagem de leucócitos no lavado broncoalveolar (LBA) após o desafio antigênico. O comportamento plaquetário foi avaliado através da contagem de plaquetas no sangue periférico entre 30 minutos a 24 horas após o desafio. As plaquetas foram isoladas em tempos variados após o desafio com OVA, a saber: 30 minutos, 2, 8 e 24 horas. Em seguida, realizou-se ensaios de adesão plaquetária em microplaca de 96 poços recoberta com fibrinogênio e ensaios de agregação plaquetária. Nossos resultados mostraram que a sensibilização e o desafio antigênico resultaram em aumento significativo dos níveis de IgE e infiltrado eosinofílico no LBA, validando o modelo alérgico adotado no estudo. Observou-se redução significativa do número de plaquetas circulantes em 30 minutos após o desafio com OVA, atingindo redução máxima em 8 horas, retornando aos valores basais 24 horas após o desafio. A adesão plaquetária ao fibrinogênio imobilizado e agregação plaquetária foram realizadas nos tempos de 30 min, 2, 8 e 24 horas após o desafio com OVA. A adesão plaquetária espontânea não foi modificada em nenhum dos tempos estudados. A adesão plaquetária induzida com ADP (5-50 µM) ou trombina (30-100 mU/mL) mostrou-se significativamente elevada em 30 minutos, e diminuída em 24 horas após o desafio com OVA. O desafio antigênico não modificou o perfil de agregação plaquetária, exceto para as plaquetas ativadas com ADP (50 µM) e/ou trombina (200 mU/mL), em 24 horas após o desafio. Com o intuito de se verificar se a via de sinalização de cálcio estaria envolvida nas mudanças observadas na adesão plaquetária, realizamos ensaios de mobilização de cálcio em plaquetas nos tempos de 30 min e 24 horas. A mobilização dos estoques internos de cálcio induzidos por ADP (20 µM) ou trombina (100 mU/mL) foram significativamente maiores em 30 minutos, e menores 24 horas após desafio antigênico à OVA. O influxo de cálcio externo foi significativamente maior em plaquetas de ratos estimuladas com ADP (20 µM) em 30 minutos após desafio com OVA. Após 24 horas, houve tendência de redução do influxo de cálcio externo em plaquetas de animais sensibilizados. Em conjunto, nossos dados mostram que o desafio intranasal com OVA acarreta, na fase imediata (30 minutos), aumento de adesão plaquetária ao fibrinogênio e elevação do transporte interno e externo de cálcio. Na fase tardia (24 horas), observamos redução da adesão plaquetária e diminuição dos estoques internos de cálcio / Abstract: Evidences show that platelets play important roles in triggering the allergic inflammatory diseases, such as bronchial asthma. However, there are few functional studies attempting to evaluate the platelet-asthma interaction. The aim of this work was to investigate platelet function in a rat model of allergic asthma. Male Wistar rats (180-200 g) were sensitized with ovalbumin (OVA) and challenged intranasally fourteen days after sensitization. In order to assess the efficacy of OVA sensitization, serum IgE levels and leukocyte counts in bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) fluid was performed post-antigen challenge. Counts of platelets in peripheral blood were performed from 30 minutes to 24 hours post-OVA challenge. Platelets were isolated in different time-periods after OVA challenge, namely: 30 minutes, 2, 8, 24 hours; then, ex-vivo platelet adhesion to immobilized fibrinogen and aggregation assays were performed. Our results showed that antigen-sensitization and challenge resulted in increased serum levels of IgE and eosinophil infiltration in BAL fluid, thus validating the allergic model adopted in this work. A significant reduction of circulating platelet was observed at 30 minutes post OVA-challenge, reaching the maximal reduction at 8 hours, and returning to baseline at 24 hours post-challenge. Platelet adhesion to immobilized fibrinogen and aggregation were performed at 30 minutes, 2, 8 and 24 hours after OVA challenge. Spontaneous platelet adhesion remained unaffected in all studied time. ADP (5-50 µM)- and thrombin (50-100 mU/mL)-stimulated platelet adhesion were significantly increased at 30 minutes, and decreased 24 hours after OVA challenge. The antigen challenge did not modify the platelet aggregation profile, except in platelets activated with 50 µM ADP and 200 mU/mL thrombin, at 24 hours post challenge. In order to verify whether calcium signaling pathway would be involved in the changes observed in platelet adhesion, we performed Ca2+ mobilization assays at 30 minutes and 24 hours. Internal calcium stores mobilization induced by ADP (20 µM) and thrombin (100 mU/mL) were significantly enhanced at 30 minutes, and decreased 24 hours after OVA-challenge. The extracellular calcium influx was significantly increased in ADP (20 µM)-stimulated rat platelets at 30 minutes post OVA-challenge. After 24 hours, the platelet calcium influx was lesser than that in nonsensitized animals. Together, our results show that intranasal OVA challenge causes an increased platelet adhesion at an early time post OVA-challenge (30 minutes) concomitant with elevated Ca2+ internal and/or external transport. At late phase (24 hours), we observed reduced platelet adhesion and decreased Ca2+ internal storage / Mestrado / Farmacologia / Mestre em Farmacologia

No description available.

Both of the acute phase reactants, C-reactive protein and fibrinogen, as well as neutrophils have been shown to accumulate at sites of tissue injury or inflammation. The association of C-reactive protein with neutrophils and the concomitant degradation of this ligand by a phorbol 12-myristate 13 acetateactivatable membrane-associated neutral protease has been shown in previous studies. Degradation of C-reactive protein by the neutrophil protease was shown to result in peptides with an ability to modulate various immune functions of the neutrophil. The aim of this study has been to investigate specific characteristics of the protease, with respect to cellular distribution and molecular size. The ability of this neutrophil membrane-associated protease to degrade the acute phase protein, fibrinogen was investigated. The mechanism of degradation of both C-reactive protein and fibrinogen during their association with the neutrophil was also examined. The neutrophil protease, capable of degrading C-reactive protein, was also associated with the cytoskeleton and was proposed to be a submembrane protease localised at sites of attachment of the membrane with the cytoskeleton. The protease was found to have a molecular mass of approximately 600 kDa which, on sodium dodecyl sulphate polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis, separated into four bands which migrated to molecular mass values of 209 kDa, 316 kDa, 398 kDa and 501 kDa. This protease also possessed fibrinogenolytic activity. The fibrinogen degradation products generated by this neutrophil membrane-associated protease were distinct from the products generated by the fibrinogenolytic systems of plasmin, human neutrophil elastase and neutrophil lysosomal enzymes and were unclottable through cleavage of the Aα chain from the N-terminus and the Bβ and γ chains from the C-terminus. N-terminal cleavage of the Aα chain by the neutrophil membrane-associated protease generated the Aα1-21 peptide, previously regarded as a unique consequence of elastase activity. Degradation of C-reactive protein and fibrinogen occurred as a result of their interaction with the neutrophil near to the CD11c integrin receptor. This interaction resulted in the egress of proteolytic activity into the extracellular medium. The fibrinogen products generated outside the cell associated with the neutrophil via the β₂ integrin receptors and the IgG Fc receptor. The interaction of the Creactive protein degradation products with the neutrophil could not be determined. Both C-reactive protein and fibrinogen are degraded by non-stimulated neutrophils but activation with phorbol 12- myristate 13 acetate resulted in maximum degradation This upregulation of activity was achieved through activation of H7 and trifluoperazine inhibitable cellular kinases and changes in microfilament assembly. The generation of non-clottable fibrinogen together with possible modulation of neutrophil receptormediated functions by the fibringen degradation products as well as the knowledge that the neutrophil protease generates C-reactive protein peptides with immunomodulatory activity implicates this neutrophil membrane-associated protease in the modulation of various inflammatory processes.

We detail for the first time the uniquely altered fibrin polymerization of homophenotypic Aα R16H dysfibrinogen. By polymerase chain reaction amplification and DNA sequencing, our new proposita's genotype consisted of a G>A transition encoding for Aα R16H, and an 11 kb Aα gene deletion. High-performance liquid chromatography disclosed fibrinopeptide A release approximately six times slower than its fibrinopeptide B. Turbidimetric analyses revealed unimpaired fibrin repolymerization, and abnormal thrombin-induced polymerization (1-7 μmol/l fibrinogen, > 96% coagulable), consisting of a prolonged lag time, slow rate, and abnormal clot turbidity maxima, all varying with thrombin concentration. For example, at 0.2-3 U/ml, the resulting turbidity maxima ranged from lower to higher than normal control values. By scanning electron microscopy, clots formed by 0.3 and 3 thrombin U/ml displayed mean fibril diameters 42 and 254% of the respective control values (n = 400). Virtually no such differences from control values were demonstrable, however, when clots formed in the presence of high ionic strength (μ = 0.30) or of monoclonal antiβ(15-42)IgG. The latter also prolonged the thrombin clotting time approximately three-fold. Additionally, thrombin-induced clots displayed decreased elastic moduli, with G′ values of clots induced by 0.3, 0.7 and 3 thrombin U/ml corresponding to 11, 34, and 45% of control values. The results are consistent with increased des-BB fibrin monomer generation preceding and during polymerization. This limited the inherent gelation delay, decreased the clot stiffness, and enabled a progressively coarser, rather than finer, network induced by increasing thrombin concentrations. We hypothesize that during normal polymerization these constitutive des-BB fibrin monomer properties attenuate their des-AA fibrin counterparts.

No description available.

No description available.

In this study, surface plasmon resonance (SPR) and quartz crystal microbalance with dissipation monitoring (QCM-D) were combined to investigate the adsorption behavior of two platelet adhesion-related blood proteins, human serum albumin (HSA) and human serum fibrinogen (HSF), on two polysaccharide materials used for hemodialysis membrane applications: regenerated cellulose and cellulose acetate. The study aims to provide insight into the design of novel hemocompatible polysaccharide materials. Information such as real-time adsorption curves, adsorbed amounts, and water contents of the protein layers were obtained and analyzed. The results suggested 1) monolayer adsorption of HSA on both cellulose and cellulose acetate, possibly with different HSA conformations; 2) a multilayer of HSF or some degree of end-on adsorption on both surfaces. The study of HSA adsorption onto cellulose acetate surfaces with different degrees of substitution indicated that the change in content of acetyl groups may not be the main factor governing the adsorbed HSA amount but may affect the conformation of adsorbed HSA molecules. / Master of Science

INTRODUCTION AND AIM - Cardiovascular disease is globally a major risk factor for morbidity and mortality. It is caused by various factors, one of which is an abnormal haemostatic process. Fibrinogen is a haemostatic factor that is considered to be an independent risk factor for cardiovascular disease. Elevated fibrinogen can be caused by environmental and genetic factors which increase the risk of the occurrence of thrombosis. The fibrinogen y' chain, which is one of the three chains of fibrinogen, has two different variants, the yA and y’. The presence of the fibrinogen y’ chain has been associated with thrombotic disorders. Many studies have investigated the fibrinogen variables in Caucasian individuals, but only a few such studies have been conducted on non-Caucasian individuals. The genetic diversity of ethnic groups differs and could cause differences in the fibrinogen variables between these groups. Fibrinogen is known to increase with age; therefore to explain changes over time in fibrinogen concentrations it was also important to investigate whether genetic determinants and possible gene–environment interactions influenced fibrinogen over time. In this study the main aim was to determine the change in the fibrinogen variables over a five-year period within a black South African cohort subdivided according to genotypes associated with fibrinogen variables, and to determine whether the observed changes were modulated by environmental factors. PARTICIPANTS AND METHODS - Data [baseline (n=2010) and follow-up (n=1288)] were collected in the Prospective Urban and Rural Epidemiology (PURE) study during 2005 and 2010 from apparently healthy black men and women aged between 35 and 65 years and residing in rural or urban settlements. Experimental methods included analysis of fibrinogen and fibrinogen y’ concentrations, single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) and determination of environmental factors associated with the fibrinogen variables. RESULTS - The fibrinogen variables increased significantly from 2005 to 2010 in both the rural and urban participants, as well as in both men and women. The major environmental factors that affected the fibrinogen variables were C-reactive protein (CRP), interleukin-6 (IL-6), body mass index (BMI), glycated haemoglobin (HbA1c), age, blood lipids, human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and tobacco use. Fibrinogen increased consistently from 2005 to 2010 in the respective genotypes of all SNPs analysed, except in the FGG 9340 T>C homozygous mutant carriers. Fibrinogen y’ also increased in general in most genotypes from 2005 to 2010, except in the FGG 10034 C>T mutant allele carriers, where a decrease was observed. It was determined that CRP was the only environmental factor that influenced the change in fibrinogen over time and that FGG 10034 C>T was the only SNP that influenced the change in fibrinogen y’ over the five years. Four gene–environment interactions also influenced fibrinogen on a cross-sectional level, i.e. FGA 2224 G>A with age, FGB Arg448Lys with HIV status, FGB 1643 C>T with urbanisation and FGB 1038 G>A with HbA1c. Only the FGG 9340 T>C with HbA1c interaction was found to predict change in fibrinogen concentrations over the five years. CONCLUSION - Both environmental and genetic factors significantly influenced the fibrinogen variables cross-sectionally as well as prospectively. It was clear that the influence of the environmental factors was mediated by genetic polymorphisms and vice versa, as can be seen by the gene–environment interactions found in this study. An important finding of this study was that the interaction of HbA1c with two SNPs on fibrinogen variables may explain the known inconsistent relationship found between fibrinogen concentrations and diabetes. / MSc (Dietetics), North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2014

INTRODUCTION AND AIM - Cardiovascular disease is globally a major risk factor for morbidity and mortality. It is caused by various factors, one of which is an abnormal haemostatic process. Fibrinogen is a haemostatic factor that is considered to be an independent risk factor for cardiovascular disease. Elevated fibrinogen can be caused by environmental and genetic factors which increase the risk of the occurrence of thrombosis. The fibrinogen y' chain, which is one of the three chains of fibrinogen, has two different variants, the yA and y’. The presence of the fibrinogen y’ chain has been associated with thrombotic disorders. Many studies have investigated the fibrinogen variables in Caucasian individuals, but only a few such studies have been conducted on non-Caucasian individuals. The genetic diversity of ethnic groups differs and could cause differences in the fibrinogen variables between these groups. Fibrinogen is known to increase with age; therefore to explain changes over time in fibrinogen concentrations it was also important to investigate whether genetic determinants and possible gene–environment interactions influenced fibrinogen over time. In this study the main aim was to determine the change in the fibrinogen variables over a five-year period within a black South African cohort subdivided according to genotypes associated with fibrinogen variables, and to determine whether the observed changes were modulated by environmental factors. PARTICIPANTS AND METHODS - Data [baseline (n=2010) and follow-up (n=1288)] were collected in the Prospective Urban and Rural Epidemiology (PURE) study during 2005 and 2010 from apparently healthy black men and women aged between 35 and 65 years and residing in rural or urban settlements. Experimental methods included analysis of fibrinogen and fibrinogen y’ concentrations, single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) and determination of environmental factors associated with the fibrinogen variables. RESULTS - The fibrinogen variables increased significantly from 2005 to 2010 in both the rural and urban participants, as well as in both men and women. The major environmental factors that affected the fibrinogen variables were C-reactive protein (CRP), interleukin-6 (IL-6), body mass index (BMI), glycated haemoglobin (HbA1c), age, blood lipids, human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and tobacco use. Fibrinogen increased consistently from 2005 to 2010 in the respective genotypes of all SNPs analysed, except in the FGG 9340 T>C homozygous mutant carriers. Fibrinogen y’ also increased in general in most genotypes from 2005 to 2010, except in the FGG 10034 C>T mutant allele carriers, where a decrease was observed. It was determined that CRP was the only environmental factor that influenced the change in fibrinogen over time and that FGG 10034 C>T was the only SNP that influenced the change in fibrinogen y’ over the five years. Four gene–environment interactions also influenced fibrinogen on a cross-sectional level, i.e. FGA 2224 G>A with age, FGB Arg448Lys with HIV status, FGB 1643 C>T with urbanisation and FGB 1038 G>A with HbA1c. Only the FGG 9340 T>C with HbA1c interaction was found to predict change in fibrinogen concentrations over the five years. CONCLUSION - Both environmental and genetic factors significantly influenced the fibrinogen variables cross-sectionally as well as prospectively. It was clear that the influence of the environmental factors was mediated by genetic polymorphisms and vice versa, as can be seen by the gene–environment interactions found in this study. An important finding of this study was that the interaction of HbA1c with two SNPs on fibrinogen variables may explain the known inconsistent relationship found between fibrinogen concentrations and diabetes. / MSc (Dietetics), North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2014