Recombinant desulfatohirudin (HI), a potent and specific thrombin inhibitor, was compared with heparin (HE) as an adjunct to streptokinase thrombolysis. In pentobarbital-anesthetized dogs, an occlusive thrombus (whole blood+thrombin) was introduced into the left anterior descending coronary artery (LAD) with superimposed endothelial damage and distal high-grade stenosis. Intravenous infusion of...

Early thrombosis of artificial microvascular grafts (AMG, grafts < or = 2 mm internal diameter) prevents their reliable clinical use. The present studies were undertaken to examine the effect of hirudin, a thrombin-specific inhibitor, and of the F(ab')2 fragment of PG-1, a monoclonal antibody (MoAb) directed against guinea pig platelet membrane glycoprotein Ib (GPIb), on AMG patency in an anima...

Trials and tribulations of thrombin inhibition Thrombin is a central component in the molecular and cellular response to plaque rupture and therefore pertinent to the entire spectrum of acute coronary syndromes. This serine protease not only promotes the deposition of fibrin strands and further activation of the coagulation cascade, but is also a potent stimulus for platelet activation, inducti...

Vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) is important for the proliferation, differentiation, and survival of microvascular endothelial cells. It is a potent angiogenic factor and a specific endothelial cell mitogen that increases fenestration and extravasation of plasma macromolecules. Recently, large quantities of VEGF were detected in human megakaryocytes. Incubation of human platelets with...

Repeated injections of colloidal copper, hirudin, nucleoprotein, and casein, which have a definite retarding influence on tumor growth, given to mice during the process of wound healing do not produce any noticeable influence on the course of regeneration.

This study involves in vitro androgenesis of <sp...