Fibrin polymers (des A,B fibrinogen) reduced the concentration of a-thrombin required for 50% activation of plasma factor XIII (a2b2 tetramer) by approximately 1 00-fold. In the presence of fibrin, the amount of ‘y-thrombin required for activation was not affected. Catalytically inactive i-Pr2Pand D-Phe-PrO-Arg-CH2-a-thrOmbin were found to inhibit over 95% of the activation by a-thrombin in the...

Twenty-five years ago, a groundbreaking paper from Tsukuba University in Japan was published, identifying the sequence of the endothelin gene and peptide (Nature 332, 411-415, 1988). This work opened the way for the discovery of the endothelin receptors and the development of orally active endothelin receptor antagonists (ERAs). Today, ERAs are part of medical therapy of patients around the wor...

In this study a previously undescribed 3 bp deletion, AAT1030-1032, in the factor XIII A subunit gene, has been detected in a Thai patient. The inframe deletion results in the translation of a factor XIII A subunit that lacks Asn344. This is the first inframe deletion to be identified in the factor XIII A subunit gene because six previously reported deletions have all caused frameshifts. The de...

After fibrin polymerization, activated Factor XIII catalyzes the formation of intermolecular cross-links between '-ychain pairs and also among two or more a-chains to form polymers. In this report we characterize the size and heterogeneity of a-chain polymers, establish the role of high concentrations of Factor XIII in determining the extent and rate of a-polymer formation, and also provide evi...

BACKGROUND Factor XIII plays an important role in the stabilization of the linkage between fibrins and in the pathophysiology of coronary artery disease (CAD). The association between factor XIII Val34Leu polymorphism and CAD risk remains controversial. METHODS We conducted a meta-analysis of 36 studies involving 26,940 cases and 34,694 controls. Subgroup analyses were performed with division...

Fibrinogen and factor XIII were measured in sixty-four women with recently detected gynaecological tumours. Twenty-six of these tumours were benign and 32 were malignant: of the last group, nine patients had metastases. No patient showed clinical signs of bleeding or thrombosis. A reference group consisted of 31 age-matched healthy women. For fibrinogen, no significant deviation between the pat...

...................................................................................................... III TABLE OF CONTENTS .................................................................................... V TABLE OF FIGURES ....................................................................................... IX TABLE OF TABLES ................................................................

............................................................................................................. V LIST OF PAPERS ................................................................................................. VII ABBREVIATIONS ..............................................................................................XIII