haemostasis Flashcards
What does blood do under normal conditions?
flows within the vascular system, transporting oxygen, nutrients and hormonal info around the body and removing metabolic waste
What are the confinement of circulating blood and maintenance of blood in fluid state dependent on the balance of?
- fibrinolytic factors, anticoagulant proteins
- coagulation factors, platelets
Why is balance important for normal haemostasis/what does the balance allow?
- allow the stimulation of blood clotting processes following injury, in which blood changes from its liquid state = coagulation
- limit the extent of the response to the area of injury to prevent excessive or generalised blood clotting = thrombosis
- start the process that eventually leads to the breakdown of the clot as part of the process of healing = fibrinolysis
What does haemostasis describe?
the âhalting of bloodâ following trauma to blood vessels and results from three intertwined proceses
Which three intertwined processes does haemostasis result from?
- contraction of blood vessels (vasoconstriction)
- formation of an unstable platelet plug at the site of the vessel wall damage (primary haemostasis)
- formation of a stable fibrin clot (secondary haemostasis/coagulation)
Why is it important to understand these haemostatic mechanisms/in order to what? (5)
- diagnose and treat bleeding disorders
- identify risk factors for thrombosis
- treat thrombotic disorders
- monitor the drugs that ar used to treat bleeding and thrombotic disorders
- control bleeding in individuals who do not have an underlying bleeding disorder
Describe an overview of haemostasis.
(response to injury) vessel constriction -> formation of an unstable platelet plug (platelet adhesion&aggregation) -> stabilisation of the plug with fibrin (blood coagulation) -> dissolution of clot and vessel repair (fibrinolysis)
What is described as primary haemostasis?
formation of an unstable platelet plug (platelet adhesion & platelet aggregation)
What is described as secondary haemostasis?
stabilisation of the plug with fibrin (blood coagulation)
What are platelets?
discoid, non-nucleated, granule-containing cells that are derived from myeloid stem cekls
Where are platelets formed?
in the bone marrow by the fragmentation of megakaryocyte cytoplasm
What is the circulating lifespan of platelets?
around 10 days
What is important for plateletsâ interactions?
glycoproteins (plasma membrane contains glycoproteins (GPs))
What do the platelets do following injury to the vessel wall?
platelets stick to the damaged endothelium, either directly to collagen via the platelet GPIa receptor or indirectly via von Willebrand factor (VWF), which binds to the platelet GPIb receptor
What are the two ways platelets can stick to the damaged endothelium?
- directly to collagen via the platelet GPIa receptor
- indirectly via von Willebrand factor (VWF), which binds to the platelet GPIb receptor
What does the adhesion of platelets lead to for the platelets?
- causes them to become activated
- changes their shape from a disc to a more rounded form with spicules to encourage platelet-platelet interaction
- release of the contents of their storage granules
What are the two main types of ultrastructurally-identifiable granules in platelets?
α-granules and dense granules
How does the platelet release granules?
platelet membrane is invaginated to form a surface-connected cannalicular system through which the platelet granules are released
What are important components of the contents of platelet granules?
ADP, fibrinogen, von Willebrand factor
What are platelets stimulated to produce?
prostaglandin thromboxane A2 from arachidonic acid that is derived from the cell membrane
What are the roles of thromboxane A2?
- platelet aggregation
- vasoconstrictor
- especially important during tissue injury and inflammation
What effects do platelet granular release of ADP and generation of thromboxane A2 have?
positive feedback effects resulting in further platelet recruitment activation and aggregation
How does the granular release of ADP and generation of thromboxane A2 result in further platelet recruitment activation and aggregation?
by binding respectively to the P2Y12 and thromboxane A2 receptor
What does platelet activation cause?
a conformational change in the GPIIb/IIIa receptor (known as âinside-outâ or âflip-floppingâ) to provide binding sites for fibrinogen
What does fibrinogen binding to GPIIb/IIIa cause?
âoutside-inâ signalling which further activates the platelets
What does fibrinogen have a key role in?
linking platelets together to form a platelet plug
What are the effects of fibrinogen counterbalanced by?
- active flow of blood
- release of prostacyclin (PGI2) from endothelial cells
What is prostacyclin (PGI2)?
- powerful vasodilator
- suppresses platelet activation
thus preventing inappropriate platelet aggregation
What are antiplatelet drugs widely used for?
the prevention and treatment of cardiovascular and cerebrovascular disease
What are the two most commonly used antiplatelet drugs?
aspirin and clopidogrel
What does aspirin do?
inhibits the production of thromboxane A2 by irreversibly blocking the action of cyclo-oxygenase (COX)
How does aspirin inhibit the production of thromboxane A2?
by irreversibly blocking the action of cyclo-oxygenase (COX), resulting in a reduction in platelet aggregation
What is also inhibited by cyclo-oxygenase?
prostacyclin production but, endothelial cells can synthesis more COX whereas the non-nuclear platelet cannot
How long do the effects of a single dose of aspirin last for?
around 7 days, until most of the platelets present at the time of aspirin ingestion have been replaced by new platelets
How does clopidogrel work?
by irreversibly blocking the ADP receptor (P2Y12) on the platelet cell membrane
How long do the effects of clopidogrel ingestion last?
7 days until new platelets have been produced
What is Von Willebrand factor (VWF)?
a glycoprotein that is synthesised by endothelial cells and megakaryocytes and circulates in plasma as multimers of different sizes
What do van Willebrand factors do?
mediates the adhesion of platelets to sites of injury and promotes platelet-platelet aggregation
What is another property of VWF in addition to its adhesive properties?
VWF is a specific carrier for factor VIII (FVIII)
What is coagulation?
- secondary haemostasis
- formation of the stable fibrin clot
When is primary platelet plug sufficient?
for small vessel injuries
Primary platelet plugs would fall apart for large vessels. What stabilises the platelet plug?
fibrin formation
What do blood coagulation pathways centre on?
on the generation of thrombin, which cleaves fibrinogen to generate a fibrin clot that stabilises the platelet plug at sites of vascular injury
Where are most clotting factors synthesised?
in the liver
What are the exceptions for clotting factors synthesised in the liver?
factor VIII and VWF
What are factor VIII and VWF made by?
endothelial cells
Where else are VWF made in?
megakaryocytes and incorporated into platelet granules
Which clotting factors are dependent on Vitamin K?
factors II (prothrombin), VII, IX, X
What are factors II (prothrombin), VII, IX and X dependent on Vitamin K for?
carboxylation of their glutamic acid residues, which is essential for the function of these clotting factors