Age-dependent vulnerability to endotoxemia is associated with reduction of anticoagulant factors activated protein C and thrombomodulin

Marlene E. Starr, Junji Ueda, Hitoshi Takahashi, Hartmut Weiler, Charles T. Esmon, B. Mark Evers, Hiroshi Saito

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

61 Scopus citations

Abstract

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.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)4886-4893
Number of pages8
JournalBlood
Volume115
Issue number23
DOIs
StatePublished - Jun 10 2010

Funding

FundersFunder number
National Institute on AgingP30AG024832

    ASJC Scopus subject areas

    • Biochemistry
    • Immunology
    • Hematology
    • Cell Biology

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