Gene/Protein Disease Symptom Drug Enzyme Compound
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Query: UMLS:C0036690 (sepsis)
 59,461 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

Inflammation shifts the hemostatic mechanisms in favor of thrombosis. Multiple mechanisms are at play including up regulation of tissue factor leading to the initiation of clotting, amplification of the clotting process by augmenting exposure of cellular coagulant phospholipids, inhibition of fibrinolysis by elevating plasminogen activator inhibitor 1 (PAI-1) and decreases in natural anticoagulant pathways, particularly targeted toward down regulation of the protein C anticoagulant pathway through multiple mechanisms. The decreased function of the natural anticoagulant pathways may be particularly problematic because these appear to play a role in dampening inflammatory responses. The protein C anticoagulant pathway provides a useful model for the impact of inflammation on coagulation. This pathway plays a major role in preventing microvascular thrombosis. The pathway is initiated when thrombin binds to thrombomodulin (TM) on the surface of the endothelium. An endothelial cell protein C receptor (EPCR) augments protein C activation by the thrombin-TM complex more than 10-fold in vivo. EPCR is shed from the endothelium by inflammatory mediators and thrombin. EPCR binds to activated neutrophils in a process that involves proteinase 3 and Mac-1 and appears to inhibit leukocyte extravisation. EPCR can undergo translocation from the plasma membrane to the nucleus where it redirects gene expression. During translocation it can carry activated protein C (APC) to the nucleus, possibly accounting for the ability of APC to modulate inflammatory mediator responses in the endothelium. TNF alpha and other inflammatory mediators can down-regulate EPCR and TM and IL-6 can depress levels of protein S in experimental animals. Inhibition of protein C pathway function increases cytokine elaboration, endothelial cell injury and leukocyte extravisation in response to endotoxin, processes that are decreased by infusion of APC. In vitro, APC inhibits TNF alpha elaboration from monocytes and to block leukocyte adhesion to selectins. Since thrombin can elicit many inflammatory responses in microvascular endothelium, loss of control of microvascular thrombin generation due to impaired protein C pathway function probably contributes to microvascular dysfunction in sepsis.
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PMID:Crosstalk between inflammation and thrombosis. 1943 87

Human protein C is a serine protease that circulates in the blood as an inactive zymogen. It is converted to its active form by interaction with thrombomodulin on the endothelial wall. Activated protein C has a significant role in maintaining haemostasis, and is a major mechanism of controlling microvascular thrombosis. Recent reports describe the use of drotrecogin alfa (recombinant activated protein C) in severe sepsis, a condition relevant to emergency medicine. This review describes the physiology of the protein C pathway and its importance in sepsis. It will also focus on the use of drotrecogin alfa in sepsis, and its use in the ED.
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PMID:Drotrecogin alfa: a role in emergency department treatment of severe sepsis? 1579 37

Activated protein C (APC), a natural anticoagulant, is formed from protein C by the action of thrombin bound to thrombomodulin on the endothelial cell surface. APC regulates the coagulation system by inactivating the activated form of factors V and VIII in the presence of protein S. Tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha) plays critical roles in the development of disseminated intravascular coagulation, acute respiratory distress syndrome and shock in sepsis by inducing endothelial cell damage through activation of neutrophils. APC reduces the pulmonary endothelial cell injury and hypotension in rats administered endotoxin (ET) by inhibiting TNF-alpha production through inhibition of its transcription. Furthermore, APC reduces the ischemia/reperfusion-induced renal injury and the stress-induced gastric mucosal injury in rats. Inhibition by APC of the endothelial cell damage inhibited the decrease in the endothelial production of prostacyclin in vivo. These therapeutic effects could not be attributed to its anticoagulant effects, but to inhibition of TNF-alpha production. APC inhibits ET-induced TNF-alpha production in vitro in human monocytes by inhibiting activation of NFkappaB and AP-1 by inhibiting degradation of IkappaB and mitogen-activated protein kinase pathways, respectively. Recombinant APC was reported to reduce the mortality of patients with severe sepsis. These observations strongly suggest that APC might be involved not only in regulation of the coagulation system, but in regulation of inflammatory responses by preventing endothelial cell injury. Furthermore, APC reduced the spinal cord injury induced by compression-trauma or ischemia/reperfusion by inhibiting TNF-alpha production in rats, suggesting that APC may be a potential therapeutic agent for spinal cord injury in which only limited therapeutic measures are currently available.
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PMID:Prevention of endothelial cell injury by activated protein C: the molecular mechanism(s) and therapeutic implications. 1532 May 13

Gram-negative sepsis is associated with disseminated intravascular coagulation (DIC) due to endothelial damage, which is induced by inflammatory mediators released from phagocytes activated by lipopolysaccharide (LPS). DIC is a systemic hemorrhagic syndrome, which results from the consumption of coagulation factors for the formation of multiple thrombi in the systemic microvessels; it is associated with multiple organ failure. Therefore, not only the systemic activation of coagulation but also the inflammatory response has been perceived as the therapeutic target for DIC in sepsis. We gave attention that protein C inhibitor (PCI) acts as an inhibitor of both plasma kallikrein and thrombin, which are known to act not only as procoagulant proteases but also as chemotactic factors toward phagocytes. Then, we hypothesized that PCI possibly acts as an anti-DIC agent rather than an inhibitor of the protein C anticoagulant pathway under the pathophysiology of DIC, accompanied by the decrease in the thrombomodulin expression on endothelial cells. Our studies have suggested that PCI purified from human urine (uPCI) improves the pathophysiology of DIC through the inhibition of activities of plasma kallikrein and thrombin, and the activities of PCI are regulated by N-glycans. This review introduces the anti-DIC action of PCI and about the modification of N-glycosylation site(s) of PCI to heighten the value of PCI as an anti-DIC agent.
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PMID:Protein C inhibitor as an anti-disseminated intravascular coagulation agent--mechanism and modification. 1532 Aug 3

Hypercoagulability is widely associated with sepsis, inflammation, diabetes, cancers, aging, and many pathological conditions, resulting in life-threatening disseminated intravascular coagulation (DIC), venous thrombosis, thromboembolism, cardiovascular complications, or even deadly multiple organ failure. Relieving coagulation dysfunction is not only a task for research scientists but also a challenge for physicians. The development of effective anticoagulants is under way with the basic understanding of the pathophysiology of hypercoagulable state. In this overview, various anticoagulants will be discussed according to the proposed inhibitory target-sites along the extrinsic pathway that is believed to play an integral role in homeostasis. Anticoagulants generally fall into two broad categories as natural or pharmacological ones. Antithrombin (AT), activated protein C (APC), and tissue factor pathway inhibitor (TFPI) mainly constitute the natural anticoagulant system apart from the recently reported physiological components such as lipoproteins, sphingosine, thrombomodulin (TM) or cellular Marcks protein. Pharmacological anticoagulants include warfarin, FVIIa inhibitors, FXa inhibitors, and thrombin inhibition by its direct inhibitors or heparins. In addition, a group of novel compounds inhibiting TF-dependent FVII activation result in anticoagulation; such upstream downregulation in the extrinsic pathway awaits further research to establish their in vivo benefits. The molecular genetic approaches such as developing soluble TF, FVII and thrombin mutants provide unique downregulation. Anticoagulation also extends its significance to anti-inflammation, making broad impacts on the improvement of human health.
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PMID:Biochemical strategies to anticoagulation: a comparative overview. 1532 Aug 20

The protein C pathway is a major regulator of blood coagulation, since it controls the conversion of prothrombin to thrombin through a feedback inhibition mechanism. Protein C circulates in plasma as an inactive zymogen and is activated on the surface of endothelial cells by the thrombin-thrombomodulin complex, a process that can be further enhanced when protein C binds to its membrane receptor, the endothelial-cell protein C receptor. Activated protein C (APC) is then released from the complex, binds protein S and inhibits thrombin formation by inactivating coagulation factors Va and VIIIa. The importance of the protein C anticoagulant pathway is emphasized by the increased risk of venous thromboembolism (VTE) associated with protein C and protein S deficiencies, the factor V Leiden mutation, and reduced circulating APC levels. The protein C pathway also plays a significant role in inflammatory processes, since it prevents the lethal effects of E. coli-associated sepsis in animal models and improves the outcome of patients with severe sepsis. APC seems to display anti-apoptotic and neuroprotective activities. Thus, it reduces organ damage in animal models of sepsis, ischemic injury, endothelial cell injury, or stroke. Further research will hopefully widen the current therapeutic perspectives in all these illnesses, where these effects might play a crucial role in their treatment. This review will summarize the mechanisms that contribute to these biological activities of the protein C pathway.
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PMID:The multifunctional protein C system. 1585 99

Inflammation initiates clotting, decreases the activity of natural anticoagulant mechanisms and impairs the fibrinolytic system. Inflammatory cytokines are the major mediators involved in coagulation activation. The natural anticoagulants function to dampen elevation of cytokine levels. Furthermore, components of the natural anticoagulant cascades, like thrombomodulin, minimise endothelial cell dysfunction by rendering the cells less responsive to inflammatory mediators, facilitate the neutralisation of some inflammatory mediators and decrease loss of endothelial barrier function. Hence, downregulation of anticoagulant pathways not only promotes thrombosis but also amplifies the inflammatory process. When the inflammation-coagulation interactions overwhelm the natural defence systems, catastrophic events occur, such as manifested in severe sepsis or inflammatory bowel disease.
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PMID:The interactions between inflammation and coagulation. 1628 32

Anticoagulation with activated protein C (APC) reduces the mortality of severe sepsis. We investigated whether the circulating protein C (PC) pool could be utilized for sustained anticoagulation by endogenous APC. To generate APC without procoagulant effects, we administered the anticoagulant thrombin mutant W215A;E217A (WE) to baboons. In preliminary studies, administration of high dose WE (110 microg kg(-1) i.v. bolus every 120 min; n = 2) depleted PC levels by 50% and elicited transient APC bursts and anticoagulation. The response to WE became smaller with each successive injection. Low dose WE infusion (5 microg kg(-1) loading + 5 microg kg(-1) h(-1) infusion; n = 5) decreased plasma PC activity by 15%, from 105% to 90%, to a new equilibrium within 60 min. APC levels increased from 7.5 ng mL(-1) to 86 ng mL(-1) by 40 min, then declined, but remained elevated at 34 ng mL(-1) at 240 min. A 22-fold higher dose WE (n = 5) decreased PC levels to 60% by 60 min without significant further depletion in 5 h. The APC level was 201 ng mL(-1) at 40 min and decreased to 20 ng mL(-1) within 120 min despite continued activator infusion. Co-infusion of WE and equimolar soluble thrombomodulin (n = 5) rapidly consumed about 80% of the PC pool with significant temporal increase in APC generation. In conclusion, low-grade PC activation by WE produced sustained, clinically relevant levels of circulating APC. Limited PC consumption in WE excess was consistent with the rapid depletion of cofactor activity before depletion of the PC zymogen. Reduced utilization of circulating PC might have similar mechanism in some patients.
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PMID:Limited generation of activated protein C during infusion of the protein C activator thrombin analog W215A/E217A in primates. 1642 May 71

Protein C, a vitamin K-dependent serine protease zymogen that circulates in plasma, is converted by limited proteolysis to activated protein C (APC) by the thrombin-thrombomodulin complex. APC exerts anticoagulant, antiinflammatory, cytoprotective, and antiapoptotic activities. Recombinant APC therapy reduces mortality in severe sepsis patients. This review summarizes data from clinical observations, from in vitro studies, and from animal models of focal ischemic injury that provide a compelling rationale for clinical trials of APC for ischemic stroke.
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PMID:The promise of protein C. 1646 23

After a coagulation stimulus, the blood clotting cascade amplifies largely unchecked until very high levels of thrombin are generated. Natural anticoagulant mechanisms (for example, the protein C anticoagulant pathway) are amplified to prevent excessive thrombin generation. Thrombin binds to thrombomodulin (TM) and this complex and then activates protein C approximately 1000 times faster than free thrombin. Protein C activation is enhanced approximately 20-fold further by the endothelial cell protein C receptor (EPCR). Activated protein C proteolytically inactivates factor Va (FVa) and FVIIIa, thereby blocking the amplification of the coagulation system, a process that is accelerated by protein S. TM not only accelerates protein C activation, but also decreases endothelial cell activation by blocking high-mobility group protein-B1 inflammatory functions and suppressing both nuclear factor-kappa B nuclear translocation and the mitogen-activated protein kinase pathways. The thrombin-TM complex also activates thrombin-activatable fibrinolysis inhibitor, a procarboxypeptidase that renders fibrin resistant to clot lysis and neutralizes vasoactive molecules such as complement C5a. Activated protein C has a variety of antiinflammatory activities. It suppresses inflammatory cytokine elevation in animal models of severe sepsis, inhibits leukocyte adhesion, decreases leukocyte chemotaxis, reduces endothelial cell apoptosis, helps maintain endothelial cell barrier function through activation of the sphingosine-1 phosphate receptor, and minimizes the decrease in blood pressure associated with severe sepsis. Most of these functions are dependent on binding to EPCR. Overall this pathway is critical to both regulation of the blood coagulation process, and control of the innate inflammatory response and some of its associated downstream pathologies.
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PMID:Inflammation and the activated protein C anticoagulant pathway. 1667 66


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