Haemostasis Flashcards
What does blood do?
flows within the vascular system, transporting oxygen, nutrients and hormonal information around the body and removing metabolic waste
Why is a balance in haemostasis important?
- coagulation
- prevent generalised thrombosis
- start the process of fibrinolysis
What is coagulation?
stimulation of blood clotting processes following injury, in which blood changes from its liquid state
What is thrombosis?
excessive or generalised blood clotting
What is fibrinolysis?
the breakdown of the clot as part of the process of healing
What 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)
What is vasoconstriction?
Contraction of blood vessels
What is primary haemostasis?
Formation of an unstable platelet plug at the site of the vessel wall damage
What is secondary haemostasis/coagulation?
Formation of a stable fibrin clot
What is the sequence of haemostasis?
- vasoconstriction
- primary haemostasis
- secondary haemostasis
- fibrinolysis
What are platelets?
discoid, non-nucleated, granule-containing cells that are derived from myeloid stem cells
Where are platelets formed and what from?
bone marrow by the fragmentation of megakaryocyte cytoplasm
What is the circulating lifespan of platelets?
around 10 days
What is important in the platelets interaction?
The plasma membrane contains glycoproteins (GPs)
What happens after injury to the vessel wall?
platelets stick to the damaged endothelium
How do 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 happens after the adhesion of platelets?
become activated and change their shape from a disc to a more rounded form with spicules to encourage platelet-platelet interaction
What happenes after platelets are activated?
They release of the contents of their storage granules
What are the 2 types of granules in platelets?
a-granules
dense granules
How are the contents of platelet granules released?
The platelet membrane is invaginated to form a surface-connected cannalicular system through which they are released
What are the components of the granules in platelets?
ADP, fibrinogen and von Willebrand factor
What do platelets produce when they are stimulated?
prostaglandin thromboxane A2 from arachidonic acid that is derived from the cell membrane
What is the role of thromboxane A2?
Has a role in platelet aggregation
it is a vasoconstrictor and is especially important during tissue injury and inflammation
What is thromboxane A2 synthesised from?
Arachidonic acid –(ASA + Cyclo-oxygenase)–> Cyclic endoperoxides
in platelets:
Cyclic endoperoxides–(thromboxane synthetase)–> thromboxane A2 —-> plt aggreg.
What happens when granular ADP is released and thromboxane A2 is generated?
positive feedback effect
^^
further platelet recruitement and activation
How do platelets get activated?
by binding respectively to the P2Y12 and thromboxane A2 receptor
What else does platelet activation cause?
a conformational change in the GPIIb/IIIa receptor (known as ‘inside-out’ or ‘flip-flopping’)
What does the conformational change in the GPIIb/IIIa receptor provide?
binding sites for fibrinogen
What does Fibrinogen binding to GPIIb/IIIa cause?
‘outside-in’ signalling which further activates the platelets
What is the key role of fibrinogen?
linking platelets together to form the platelet plug
How are the effects of fibrinogen counterbalanced?
by the active flow of blood and the release of prostacyclin (PGI2) from endothelial cells
What is prostacyclin?
a powerful vasodilator and suppresses platelet activation
When platelet aggregation is suppressed what is prevented?
inappropriate platelet aggregation
What is aggregation?
the formation of a number of things into a cluster
What is adhesion of platelets?
They bind to the Von Willebrand factor by Glplb
or to collagen by Glpla
What does the adhesion of platelets cause?
Release of ADP + thromboxane
What does the release of ADP + thromboxane cause?
Platelet aggregation
What is the sequence of platelet aggregation?
adhesion
release
aggregation
What are antiplatelet drugs used for?
prevention and treatment of cardiovascular and cerebrovascular disease
Which are the most commonly used antiplatelet drugs?
Aspirin and clopidogrel
How does aspirin work?
Inhibits the production of thromboxane A2
How does aspirin inhibit the production of thromboxane A2?
irreversibly blocking the action of cyclo-oxygenase (COX), resulting in a reduction in platelet aggregation
What is inhibited by cyclo-oxygenase?
prostacyclin production but endothelial cells can synthesise more COX whereas the non-nuclear platelet cannot
How long does the effect of a single dose of aspirin last?
around 7 days
Why does the effect of aspirin wear away?
most of the platelets present at the time of aspirin ingestion have been replaced by new platelets
How does clopidogrel work?
It irreversibly blocks the ADP receptor (P2Y12) on the platelet cell membrane
How long does the effect of clopidogrel last?
around 7 days until new platelets have been produced
What is the Von Willebrand factor (VWF)?
a glycoprotein that is synthesised by endothelial cells and megakaryocytes and circulates in plasma as multimers of different sizes
What does Von Willebrand factor (VWF) do?
It mediates the adhesion of platelets to sites of injury
promotes platelet-platelet aggregation.
What is the Von Willebrand factor (VWF) a carrier for?
factor VIII (FVIII)
What are the properties of the Von Willebrand factor (VWF)
Adhesive properties
What is coagulation also called?
secondary haemostasis
What is coagulation?
formation of the stable fibrin clot
What is the primary platelet plug sufficient for?
small vessel injury