Fibrinogen clotting reaction

Heparin inhibits the formation of fibrin clots, inhibits the conversion of fibrinogen to fibrin, and inactivates several of the factors necessary for the clotting of blood. Heparin cannot be taken orally because it is inactivated by gastric acid in the stomach therefore, it must be given by injection. Heparin has no effect on clots that have already formed and aids only in preventing the formation of new blood clots (thrombi). The LMWHs act to inhibit clotting reactions by binding to antithrombin HI, which inhibits the synthesis of factor Xa and the formation of thrombin. 

Imagine for a moment what would happen if the pH of the blood were to become too acidic or too basic. Blood is a fluid that contains water and dissolved electrolytes, a variety of cells, including the red blood cells responsible for oxygen transport, and many different proteins. These proteins include fibrinogen, which is involved in the clotting reaction immunoglobulins, which protect us from disease and albumins, which carry hydrophobic molecules in the blood. 

The covalent modification of human a-thrombin with pyridoxal 5 -phosphate involves phosphopyridoxylation at two sites.Attachment of the cofactor to the first site was accompanied by a loss in the fibrinogen clotting activity of the thrombin, whereas attachment of the cofactor to the second site resulted in a decrease in the sensitivity to heparin in the anti-(thrombin III)-thrombin reaction. 

Thrombin, the two-chain derivative of the prothrombin molecule, has a molecular weight of approximately 37,000 daltons. Its proteolytic properties induce the conversion of fibrinogen to fibrin to produce the initial visible manifestation of coagulation, the soluble fibrin clot. In addition, thrombin influences the activity of Factors V, VIII, and XIII and plasmin. Thrombin affects platelet function by inducing viscous metamorphosis and the release reaction with subsequent aggregation. 

The most important reaction in blood clotting is the conversion, catalyzed by thrombin, of the soluble plasma protein fibrinogen (factor 1) into polymeric fibrin, which is deposited as a fibrous network in the primary thrombus. Thrombin (factor 11a) is a serine proteinase (see p. 176) that cleaves small peptides from fibrinogen. This exposes binding sites that spontaneously allow the fibrin molecules to aggregate into polymers. Subsequent covalent cross-linking of fibrin by a transglutaminase (factor Xlll) further stabilizes the thrombus. 

Overall, therefore, activation of the thrombolytic cascade occurs exactly where it is needed— on the surface of the clot. This is important as the substrate specificity of plasmin is poor, and circulating plasmin displays the catalytic potential to proteolyse fibrinogen, factor V and factor VIII. Although soluble serum tPA displays a much reduced activity towards plasminogen, some free circulating plasmin is produced by this reaction. If uncontrolled, this could increase the risk of subsequent haemorrhage. This scenario is usually averted, as circulating plasmin is rapidly... 

The blood coagulation cascade. Each of the curved red arrows represents a proteolytic reaction, in which a protein is cleaved at one or more specific sites. With the exception of fibrinogen, the substrate in each reaction is an inactive zymogen except for fibrin, each product is an active protease that proceeds to cleave another member in the series. Many of the steps also depend on interactions of the proteins with Ca2+ ions and phospholipids. The cascade starts when factor XII and prekallikrein come into contact with materials that are released or exposed in injured tissue. (The exact nature of these materials is still not fully clear.) When thrombin cleaves fibrinogen at several points, the trimmed protein (fibrin) polymerizes to form a clot. 

Fig. 1. Basic scheme of fibrin polymerization and fibrinolysis. The clot is formed on the conversion of fibrinogen to fibrin by cleavage of the fibrinopeptides by thrombin, followed by stabilization of the network with isopeptide bonds by the transglutaminase Factor XHIa. The clot is dissolved through proteolysis by the enzyme plasmin, which is activated on the fibrin surface by plasminogen activators. This process is controlled by several inhibitory reactions (black arrows).

Fibrin polymerization is initiated by the enzymatic cleavage of the fibrinopeptides, converting fibrinogen to fibrin monomer (Fig. 1). Then, several nonenzymatic reactions yield an orderly sequence of macromolec-ular assembly steps. Several other plasma proteins bind specifically to the resulting fibrin network. The clot is stabilized by covalent ligation or crosslinking of specific amino acids by a transglutaminase, Factor XHIa. 

Fibrinogen 200-450 340,000 /3-Globulin reactions Clots to give fibrin... 

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