Heritable Bleeding Disorders Flashcards
What is meant by the hemostatic balance?
a delicate balance of procoagulant and anticoagulant components
What is involved in hemostatic plug formation?
aggregation of platelets formed during early stages of haemostasis in response to blood vessel wall injury
platelets are recruited and begin to accumulate around the breakage
they adhere to each other to form a platelet plug that prevents more blood from leaving the vessel and any contaminants from getting in
how is fibrin involved in haemostatic clot formation?
thrombin acts on fibrinogen to convert it to fibrin through polymerisation
polymerised fibrin, together with platelets, forms a haemostatic plug / clot over a wound site
What is involved in formation of a platelet thrombus?
platelets adhere to the subendothelial space when an endothelium is damaged and undergo activation
platelets aggregate into a thrombus
What is contained within the alpha granules of platelets?
fibrinogen and von Willebrand factor (vWF)
these are adhesive proteins which mediate platelet-platelet and paltelet-endothelial interactions
What is contained within the dense granules of platelets?
- adensoine diphosphate (ADP)
- adenosine triphosphate (ATP)
- ionized calcium
- serotonin
What is contained within lysosomal granules of platelets?
mainly digestive enzymes
What is the mechanism of action of clopidogrel?
it selectively inhibits the binding of ADP to its platelet P2Y12 receptor
this prevents the ADP-mediated activation of the glycoprotein IIb/IIIa complex
this inhibits platelet aggregation
What is the mechanism of action of dipyridamole?
it inhibits the cellular reuptake of adenosine into platelets
it stimulates prostacyclin production by increasing intracellular levels of cAMP
prostacyclin is an endogenous inhibitor of platelet activation and aggregation
What is the mechanism of action of aspirin?
it inhibits the activity of the enzyme cyclooxygenase (COX)
this irreversibly blocks the formation of thromboxane A2 in platelets
this produces an inhibitory effect on platelet aggregation
How do IIb/IIIa antagonists work?
they prevent platelet aggregation and thrombus formation
they inhibit the GP IIb/IIIa receptor on the surface of platelets
Which clotting assays are used to measure the different components of the coagulation cascade?
activated partial thromboplastin time:
- measures the intrinsic pathway
prothrombin time:
- measures the extrinsic pathway
thrombin time:
- measures fibrin formation from thrombin
What activates the clotting cascade?
exposure of underlying collagen to circulating platelets when a blood vessel is damaged
platelets bind directly to collagen to form a “platelet plug”
adhesion is strengthened further by vWF that forms additional bonds between platelets and collagen
What is the difference in the ways the intrinsic and extrinsic pathways are activated?
intrinsic:
- activated by damage directly to the blood vessel
- collagen is exposed to circulating platelets
extrinsic:
- activated by tissue factor
- released in response to many things including tissue damage outside the blood vessel, sepsis, malignancy, inflammtion
What pathway is activated by thrombin?
it activates the intrinsic pathway through activation of factor 8 and 11
it also activates factors 5, 7 and 13 to increase the coagulation effects of the extrinsic and common pathways
What is produced by both the intrinsic and extrinsic pathways?
a prothrombin activator
this triggers the common pathway
prothrombin becomes thrombin, which then converts fibrinogen into fibrin
Which factors are involved in the intrinsic and extrinsic pathways?
intrinsic:
- XII
- XI
- IX
- VIII and IX form a complex
extrinsic:
- III
- VII
- VIII and III form a complex
common:
- the complexes from both pathways activate X
- X combines with V to activate thrombin
- fibrinogen is converted to fibrin
- XIII cross-links fibrin
What are the procoagulant and anticoagulant factors involved in hemostatic balance?
procoagulant:
- platelets
- clotting factors
anti-coagulant:
- protein c
- protein s
- anti-thrombin III
- fibrinolytic system
What is the role of plasmin?
it is a serine protease enzyme that degrades many blood plasma proteins, including fibrin clots
What is involved in the conversion of plasminogen to plasmin?
- tissue plasminogen activator (tPA)
- urokinase plasminogen activator (uPA)
- factor XII
fibrin is a cofactor for plasminogen activation by tPA
What is the role of TAFI?
when activated to TAFIa, it suppresses fibrinolysis by the removal of lysine residues from the fibrin clot
these would be exposed as fibrin is degraded by plasmin
What are the 4 different types of bleeding disorders?
- congenital (usually a single defect)
- acquired (often multiple defects)
- platelet / vessel wall bleeding - mucosal and skin
- coagulation defect - deep muscular and joint bleeding, often following trauma
What is involved in appropriate investigation of a possible bleeding disorder?
- full blood count and blood film
- coagulation screen and Clauss fibrinogen
- mixing studies if abnormal results
- von willebrand profile
- FVIII / FIX +/- other appropriate coagulation factor assays
- platelet function tests
- inhibitor assays in some cases (antiphospholipid type and/or specific coagulation factor inhibitors)
What should be done if all test results are normal and suspicion still remains?
FXIII assay and assay of alpha2antiplasmin