TY - JOUR
T1 - Age-dependent vulnerability to endotoxemia is associated with reduction of anticoagulant factors activated protein C and thrombomodulin
AU - Starr, Marlene E.
AU - Ueda, Junji
AU - Takahashi, Hitoshi
AU - Weiler, Hartmut
AU - Esmon, Charles T.
AU - Evers, B. Mark
AU - Saito, Hiroshi
PY - 2010/6/10
Y1 - 2010/6/10
N2 - The protein C (PC) pathway is an important anticoagulant mechanism that prevents thrombosis during the systemic inflammatory response. Thrombomodulin (TM), an endothelial cell membrane receptor, accelerates the conversion of PC to activated protein C (APC), which leads to the down-regulation of thrombin production and fibrin formation. Induction of acute endotoxemia in young and aged mice with a low dose of bacterial endotoxin lipopolysaccharide (LPS, 2.5 mg/kg) caused a high mortality rate in aged (80%) but not young (0%) mice. After injection with this dose of LPS, fibrin formation was significantly elevated only in aged mice, plasma APC levels were increased only in young mice, and TM expression was profoundly depressed in the aged. The increased thrombosis, suppressed APC level, and decreased TM expression were not observed in young mice receiving a higher dose of LPS (20 mg/kg), which resulted in a mortality rate (78%) equivalent to that seen in aged mice with the low-dose LPS. Mutant mice with reduced TM showed significantly less plasma APC and increased fibrin formation compared with wild-type mice after LPS. These results demonstrate that PC pathway activation is suppressed with aging and is partly responsible for age-associated thrombosis and high mortality during endotoxemia.
AB - The protein C (PC) pathway is an important anticoagulant mechanism that prevents thrombosis during the systemic inflammatory response. Thrombomodulin (TM), an endothelial cell membrane receptor, accelerates the conversion of PC to activated protein C (APC), which leads to the down-regulation of thrombin production and fibrin formation. Induction of acute endotoxemia in young and aged mice with a low dose of bacterial endotoxin lipopolysaccharide (LPS, 2.5 mg/kg) caused a high mortality rate in aged (80%) but not young (0%) mice. After injection with this dose of LPS, fibrin formation was significantly elevated only in aged mice, plasma APC levels were increased only in young mice, and TM expression was profoundly depressed in the aged. The increased thrombosis, suppressed APC level, and decreased TM expression were not observed in young mice receiving a higher dose of LPS (20 mg/kg), which resulted in a mortality rate (78%) equivalent to that seen in aged mice with the low-dose LPS. Mutant mice with reduced TM showed significantly less plasma APC and increased fibrin formation compared with wild-type mice after LPS. These results demonstrate that PC pathway activation is suppressed with aging and is partly responsible for age-associated thrombosis and high mortality during endotoxemia.
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=77954738683&partnerID=8YFLogxK
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=77954738683&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1182/blood-2009-10-246678
DO - 10.1182/blood-2009-10-246678
M3 - Article
C2 - 20348393
AN - SCOPUS:77954738683
SN - 0006-4971
VL - 115
SP - 4886
EP - 4893
JO - Blood
JF - Blood
IS - 23
ER -