haemostasis Flashcards

1
Q

What does blood do under normal conditions?

A

flows within the vascular system, transporting oxygen, nutrients and hormonal info around the body and removing metabolic waste

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2
Q

What are the confinement of circulating blood and maintenance of blood in fluid state dependent on the balance of?

A
  • fibrinolytic factors, anticoagulant proteins
  • coagulation factors, platelets
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3
Q

Why is balance important for normal haemostasis/what does the balance allow?

A
  1. allow the stimulation of blood clotting processes following injury, in which blood changes from its liquid state = coagulation
  2. limit the extent of the response to the area of injury to prevent excessive or generalised blood clotting = thrombosis
  3. start the process that eventually leads to the breakdown of the clot as part of the process of healing = fibrinolysis
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4
Q

What does haemostasis describe?

A

the ‘halting of blood’ following trauma to blood vessels and results from three intertwined proceses

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5
Q

Which three intertwined processes does haemostasis result from?

A
  1. contraction of blood vessels (vasoconstriction)
  2. formation of an unstable platelet plug at the site of the vessel wall damage (primary haemostasis)
  3. formation of a stable fibrin clot (secondary haemostasis/coagulation)
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6
Q

Why is it important to understand these haemostatic mechanisms/in order to what? (5)

A
  • 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
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7
Q

Describe an overview of haemostasis.

A

(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)

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8
Q

What is described as primary haemostasis?

A

formation of an unstable platelet plug (platelet adhesion & platelet aggregation)

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9
Q

What is described as secondary haemostasis?

A

stabilisation of the plug with fibrin (blood coagulation)

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10
Q

What are platelets?

A

discoid, non-nucleated, granule-containing cells that are derived from myeloid stem cekls

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11
Q

Where are platelets formed?

A

in the bone marrow by the fragmentation of megakaryocyte cytoplasm

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12
Q

What is the circulating lifespan of platelets?

A

around 10 days

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13
Q

What is important for platelets’ interactions?

A

glycoproteins (plasma membrane contains glycoproteins (GPs))

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14
Q

What do the platelets do following injury to the vessel wall?

A

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

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15
Q

What are the two ways platelets can stick to the damaged endothelium?

A
  • directly to collagen via the platelet GPIa receptor
  • indirectly via von Willebrand factor (VWF), which binds to the platelet GPIb receptor
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16
Q

What does the adhesion of platelets lead to for the platelets?

A
  • 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
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17
Q

What are the two main types of ultrastructurally-identifiable granules in platelets?

A

α-granules and dense granules

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18
Q

How does the platelet release granules?

A

platelet membrane is invaginated to form a surface-connected cannalicular system through which the platelet granules are released

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19
Q

What are important components of the contents of platelet granules?

A

ADP, fibrinogen, von Willebrand factor

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20
Q

What are platelets stimulated to produce?

A

prostaglandin thromboxane A2 from arachidonic acid that is derived from the cell membrane

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21
Q

What are the roles of thromboxane A2?

A
  • platelet aggregation
  • vasoconstrictor
  • especially important during tissue injury and inflammation
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22
Q

What effects do platelet granular release of ADP and generation of thromboxane A2 have?

A

positive feedback effects resulting in further platelet recruitment activation and aggregation

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23
Q

How does the granular release of ADP and generation of thromboxane A2 result in further platelet recruitment activation and aggregation?

A

by binding respectively to the P2Y12 and thromboxane A2 receptor

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24
Q

What does platelet activation cause?

A

a conformational change in the GPIIb/IIIa receptor (known as ‘inside-out’ or ‘flip-flopping’) to provide binding sites for fibrinogen

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25
Q

What does fibrinogen binding to GPIIb/IIIa cause?

A

‘outside-in’ signalling which further activates the platelets

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26
Q

What does fibrinogen have a key role in?

A

linking platelets together to form a platelet plug

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27
Q

What are the effects of fibrinogen counterbalanced by?

A
  • active flow of blood
  • release of prostacyclin (PGI2) from endothelial cells
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28
Q

What is prostacyclin (PGI2)?

A
  • powerful vasodilator
  • suppresses platelet activation
    thus preventing inappropriate platelet aggregation
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29
Q

What are antiplatelet drugs widely used for?

A

the prevention and treatment of cardiovascular and cerebrovascular disease

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30
Q

What are the two most commonly used antiplatelet drugs?

A

aspirin and clopidogrel

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31
Q

What does aspirin do?

A

inhibits the production of thromboxane A2 by irreversibly blocking the action of cyclo-oxygenase (COX)

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32
Q

How does aspirin inhibit the production of thromboxane A2?

A

by irreversibly blocking the action of cyclo-oxygenase (COX), resulting in a reduction in platelet aggregation

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33
Q

What is also inhibited by cyclo-oxygenase?

A

prostacyclin production but, endothelial cells can synthesis more COX whereas the non-nuclear platelet cannot

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34
Q

How long do the effects of a single dose of aspirin last for?

A

around 7 days, until most of the platelets present at the time of aspirin ingestion have been replaced by new platelets

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35
Q

How does clopidogrel work?

A

by irreversibly blocking the ADP receptor (P2Y12) on the platelet cell membrane

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36
Q

How long do the effects of clopidogrel ingestion last?

A

7 days until new platelets have been produced

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37
Q

What is Von Willebrand factor (VWF)?

A

a glycoprotein that is synthesised by endothelial cells and megakaryocytes and circulates in plasma as multimers of different sizes

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38
Q

What do van Willebrand factors do?

A

mediates the adhesion of platelets to sites of injury and promotes platelet-platelet aggregation

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39
Q

What is another property of VWF in addition to its adhesive properties?

A

VWF is a specific carrier for factor VIII (FVIII)

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40
Q

What is coagulation?

A
  • secondary haemostasis
  • formation of the stable fibrin clot
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41
Q

When is primary platelet plug sufficient?

A

for small vessel injuries

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42
Q

Primary platelet plugs would fall apart for large vessels. What stabilises the platelet plug?

A

fibrin formation

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43
Q

What do blood coagulation pathways centre on?

A

on the generation of thrombin, which cleaves fibrinogen to generate a fibrin clot that stabilises the platelet plug at sites of vascular injury

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44
Q

Where are most clotting factors synthesised?

A

in the liver

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45
Q

What are the exceptions for clotting factors synthesised in the liver?

A

factor VIII and VWF

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46
Q

What are factor VIII and VWF made by?

A

endothelial cells

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47
Q

Where else are VWF made in?

A

megakaryocytes and incorporated into platelet granules

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48
Q

Which clotting factors are dependent on Vitamin K?

A

factors II (prothrombin), VII, IX, X

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49
Q

What are factors II (prothrombin), VII, IX and X dependent on Vitamin K for?

A

carboxylation of their glutamic acid residues, which is essential for the function of these clotting factors

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50
Q

What does the process of blood coagulation involve?

A

a number of steps that are activated in sequence

51
Q

What is each step of blood coagulation characterised by?

A

by the conversion of an inactive zymogen (proenzyme) into an active clotting factor

52
Q

How is inactive zymogen (proenzyme) converted into an active clotting factor?

A

by the splitting of one or more peptide bonds and exposure of the active enzyme site

53
Q

What are factors V and VIII?

A

co-factors

54
Q

Where are many clotting factors believed to work on?

A

on the exposed phospholipid surface of platelets, which helps to localise and accelerate these reactions

55
Q

What is the role of calcium ions in clotting factors?

A

calcium ions play an important role in the binding of activated clotting factors to the phospholipid surfaces of platelets

56
Q

What is the trigger to initiate coagulation at the site of injury?

A

the tissue factor (TF) exposed on the surface of endothelial cells and leukocytes and on most extravascular cells in an area of tissue damage

57
Q

Where is TF mainly located?

A

at sites that are not usually exposed to the blood under normal physiological conditions

58
Q

What is a result of TF being mainly located at sites that are not usually exposed to the blood under normal physiological conditions?

A

blood only encounters TF at sites of vascular injury

59
Q

What does the binding of TF to factor VIIa lead to?

A

the activation of factors IX to IXa and X to Xa

60
Q

What does the activation of factors IX to IXa and X to Xa lead to?

A

the activation of prothrombin (factor II) to generate a small initial amount of thrombin (factor IIa)

61
Q

What is the phase of activation of prothrombin (factor II) to generate a small initial amount of thrombin (factor IIa) known as?

A

Initiation phase

62
Q

What does the small initial amount of thrombin generated in the Initiation phase do?

A

mediates the activation of the co-factors V and VIII, the zymogen factor XI and platelets (Amplification phase)

63
Q

What is the Amplification phase?

A

When the small amount of thrombin (generated in the Initiation phase) mediates the activation of the co-factors V and VIII, the zymogen factor XI and platelets

64
Q

What does factor XI convert?

A

factor XI converts more factor IX to IXa

65
Q

What does IXa do in concert with factor VIIIa?

A

amplifies the conversion of factor X and Xa

66
Q

What happens after the amplification of the conversion of factor X to Xa?

A

a rapid burst in thrombin generation

67
Q

What phase is the rapid burst in thrombin generation known as?

A

Propagation phase

68
Q

What does the propagation phase (rapid burst in thrombin generation) do?

A

cleaves the circulating fibrinogen (soluble) to form the insoluble fibrin clot

69
Q

What do the action of inhibitory mechanisms ensure?

A

that coagulation is confined to the site of injury and prevent spontaneous activation of coagulation

70
Q

What are the names of the most important inhibitory mechanisms?

A

protein C, protein S, antithrombin

71
Q

What is the role of thrombin?

A

binds to thrombomodulin on the endothelial cell surface leading to activation of protein C to activated protein C (APC).

72
Q

What does APC do?

A

inactivates factors Va and VIIIa in the presence of a co-factor protein S

73
Q

What are thrombin and factor Xa inactivated by?

A

by the circulating inhibitor antithrombin

74
Q

What is the action of antithrombin markedly potentiated by?

A

heparin: this occurs physiologically by the binding of antithrombin to endothelial cell-associated heparins

75
Q

What are the main anticoagulant drugs?

A

heparin, warfarin and the direct oral anticoagulants (DOACs)

76
Q

What are the main anticoagulant drugs widely used in?

A

the prevention and treatment of thrombosis

77
Q

What is heparin

A
  • an anticoagulant drug
  • a mixture of glycosaminylglycan chains extracted from porcine mucosa
78
Q

How does heparin work?

A

it works indirectly by potentiating the action of antithrombin leasing to the inactivation of factors Xa and IIa (thrombin)

79
Q

What does inactivation of thrombin require?

A

requires longer chains of heparin chains, which are able to wrap around both the antithrombin and thrombin

80
Q

How is heparin administered?

A

intravenously or by subcutaneous injection

81
Q

What is warfarin?

A
  • an anticoagulant drug
  • derived from coumarin
  • vitamin K antagonist
82
Q

How does warfarin work?

A

by interfering with protein carboxylation
- it therefore reduces synthesis of functional factors I, VII, IX and X by the liver

83
Q

How is warfarin given and monitored?

A
  • given as an oral tablet
  • its anticoagulant effect needs to be monitored by regular blood testing
84
Q

How many days does it take for warfarin to take effect and why?

A
  • several days to take effect
  • because it reduces synthesis of coagulation factors rather than inhibiting existing factor molecules
85
Q

What are direct oral anticoagulants (DOACs)?

A

orally available drugs that directly inhibit either thrombin for factor Xa (i.e., without the involvement of antithrombin)

86
Q

Do direct oral anticoagulants (DOACs) need monitoring?

A

they do not usually require monitoring

87
Q

What mechanism does the body have after haemostasis has been achieved?

A

a mechanism to break down (lyse) clots

88
Q

What is the body’s mechanism to break down (lyse) clots called?

A

fibrinolytic system

89
Q

What is the principal fibrinolytic enzyme?

A

plasmin

90
Q

In what form does the principal fibrinolytic enzyme plasmin circulate?

A

in its inactive zymogen form plasminigen

91
Q

What is the activation of plasmin mediated by?

A

tissue plasminogen activator (t-PA)

92
Q

When does t-PA not activate plasminogen?

A

t-PA does nit activate plasminogen until these (????) are both brought together by binding to lysine residues on fibrin

93
Q

What does the breakdown of fibrin lead to?

A

the generation of fibrin-degradation produces (FDPs)

94
Q

Is plasmin specific?

A

plasmin is not specific for fibrin and can also break down other protein components of plasma, including fibrinogen and the clotting factors Va and VIIIa

95
Q

What is plasmin inhibited by?

A

antiplasmin, which circulates in the blood

96
Q

What else is plasmin inhibited by?

A

plasmin is one of the many proteases inhibited by alpha 2 macroglobulin, the broadly active alpha-2-globulin (from Pease’s plasma lecture)

97
Q

What is an example of a thrombolytic agent?

A

recombinant t-PA

98
Q

How does recombinant t-PA (a thrombolytic agent) work?

A

by generating plasmin to lyse clots

99
Q

How and when is recombinant t-PA (a thrombolytic agent) administered?

A

intravenously to selected patients presenting with ischaemic stroke

100
Q

Describe the administration of t-PA and the reason for this.

A

the benefit is time-dependent and so t-PA needs to be given to eligible patients as quickly as possible, preferably within one hour of the onset of symptoms

101
Q

What is a risk associated with t-PA use?

A

high risk of bleeding associated

102
Q

When can thrombolytic therapy be given, other than for ischaemic stroke?

A

can also be given to patients with life threatening pulmonary emboli
- was previously used in patients with myocardial infarction, although this has largely been replaced with angioplasty and the insertion of stents to open the diseased coronary vessels

103
Q

What is tranexamic acid?

A

a synthetic derivative of the amino acid lysine

104
Q

How does tranexamic acid work?

A

by binding to plasminogen

105
Q

What does tranexamic acid do by binding to plasminogen?

A

prevents plasminogen from binding to the lysine residues of fibrin- known as competitive inhibition

106
Q

What does the competitive inhibition of tranexamic acid prevent?

A

the activation of plasminogen to plasmin, which would otherwise result in fibrinolysis

107
Q

What is tranexamic acid widely used for?

A

to treat bleeding in trauma and surgical patients, as well as in patients with inherited bleeding disorders

108
Q

tests of coagulation

A
109
Q

What does Prothrombin time (PT) measure?

A

the integrity of the ‘extrinsic’ pathway

110
Q

What are two tests of coagulation?

A
  • prothrombin time (PT)
  • activated partial thromboplastin time (APTT)
111
Q

What is the first step of prothrombin time (PT)?

A

blood is collected into a bottle containing sodium citrate (usually blue-topped), which chelates calcium thus preventing the blood from clotting in the bottle

112
Q

What is the second step of prothrombin time (PT)?

A

the sample is spun to produce platelet-poor plasma

113
Q

What is the third step of prothrombin time (PT)?

A

a source of TF and phospholipid is added to the citrated plasma sample, together with calcium to start the reaction; the length of time taken for the misture to clot is recorded

114
Q

Why might the PT be prolonged?

A

if there is a reduction in the activity of factors VII, X, V, II (prothrombin) or fibrinogen i.e., (‘prothrombin’ is a misnomer)

115
Q

What is often used nowadays as the source of both TF and phospholipid?

A

a recombinant thromboplastin

116
Q

What is PT used to monitor?

A

vitamin K antagonist anticoagulant therapy such as warfarin

117
Q

How are the results of monitoring vitamin K antagonist anticoagulant therapy using PT expressed?

A

as the international normalised ratio (INR)

118
Q

What does the international normalised ratio involve?

A

a correction for the different thromboplastin reagents used by different laboratories and means that all laboratories would be expected to obtain the same INR result for a given sample irrespective of the source of thromboplastin

119
Q

What does the activated partial thromboplastin time (APTT) measure?

A

the integrity of the ‘intrinsic’ pathway

120
Q

How is activated partial thromboplastin time (APTT) performed?

A

performed by the contact activation of factor XII by a surface such as glass, or using a contact activator such as silica or kaolin

121
Q

How do you find out the activated partial thromboplastin time (APTT)?

A

contact activator, together with phospholipid, is added to the citrated plasma sample followed by calcium; the time taken for this mixture to clot is measured

122
Q

When is prolongation of the APTT seen?

A

it is seen in a variety of situations where there is a reduction in a single or multiple clotting factors; in the latter there may also be an associated prolonged PT

123
Q

When is an isolated prolonged APTT seen.

A

an isolated prolonged APTT (i.e., normal PT) is seen in patients with haemophilia A (factor VIII deficiency), haemophilia B (factor IX deficiency) and factor XI deficiency

however, this may also be caused by factor XII deficiency which does not result in bleeding