fibrin and Cryoglobulinemia

Recently, high prevalence of cryofibrinogenaemia has been observed in plasma of untreated dermatitis herpetiformis (DH) patients, and the pathological IgA and TG3 deposits in the papillary dermis were found to co-localize with fibrin and fibrinogen.. To study the fibrinolytic potential in plasma of untreated, dapsone and or/gluten-free diet treated DH patients as well as the in vitro effect of dapsone on the fibrinolytic profile.. Plasma samples of 23 DH patients, 19 healthy subjects and 5 pemphigus vulgaris patients were investigated by a turbidimetric-clot lysis assay. Out of them 5 DH plasma samples representing different fibrinolytic parameters, and 3 healthy controls were selected for parallel fibrin clot preparation. The clot fibrin structure was examined by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and the diameters of 900 fibrin fibres were determined in each clot.. A significantly prolonged clot lysis time was detected in untreated DH patients. The turbidity values of DH plasma clots indicated an altered fibrin structure that was also confirmed by SEM: significantly thicker fibrin fibers were observed in untreated, TG3 antibody positive DH patients compared to healthy controls, whereas the fiber diameters of dapsone-treated patients were similar or thinner than the control values. In line with the structural changes of fibrin, the fibrinolytic profile of 5 DH patients under dapsone treatment approached the control values.. This study revealed that the fibrinolytic potential was impaired in the plasma of untreated DH patients, whereas dapsone corrected the fibrinolytic defect. These data suggest a pathogenic role for plasma-derived factors in the development of skin symptoms and add a new aspect to the long-known beneficial, symptomatic effect of dapsone in active DH.

Topics: Adult; Aged; Blood Coagulation; Case-Control Studies; Cryoglobulinemia; Dapsone; Dermatitis Herpetiformis; Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay; Female; Fibrin; Fibrinogen; Fibrinolysis; Fluorescent Antibody Technique, Direct; Humans; Kinetics; Male; Microscopy, Electron, Scanning; Middle Aged; Nephelometry and Turbidimetry; Skin; Young Adult

A 58-year-old man with multiple myeloma and paraproteinemia (IgG kappa) acquired cryoglobulinemia 2 years after the initial diagnosis of the disease. This cryoglobulin interfered specifically with fibrin aggregation. The patient's fibrinogen was functionally normal; however, clotting times (thrombin clotting time, reptilase clotting time) were prolonged in the untreated plasma and in the supernatant after removal of the cryoglobulins. Untreated patient's serum, and even more pronounced, the cryoprecipitate inhibited the association of fibrin monomers obtained from healthy controls. The inhibitory activity on fibrin aggregation diminished upon treatment-induced reduction of plasma protein levels.

Topics: Blood Coagulation Disorders; Blood Coagulation Tests; Cryoglobulinemia; Fibrin; Fibrinogen; Humans; Immunoglobulin kappa-Chains; Male; Middle Aged; Multiple Myeloma; Myeloma Proteins; Plasmapheresis; Polymers; Temperature

Cross-linked fibrin degradation products (XDP) were measured with a highly sensitive and specific ELISA in 21 patients with essential mixed cryoglobulinemia (EMC) and in 16 controls. Patients had significantly increased levels of XDP, together with abnormalities in routine coagulation tests. Moreover, XDP were higher in patients with more severe disease. These results support the hypothesis that EMC patients have a chronic disseminated intravascular coagulation (DIC), and underline the significance of XDP measurement in the evaluation of these patients.

Topics: Adult; Aged; Chronic Disease; Cryoglobulinemia; Disseminated Intravascular Coagulation; Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay; Female; Fibrin; Fibrinogen; Humans; Male; Middle Aged

Procoagulant activity (PCA) of peripheral blood mononuclear cells was studied in vitro in 14 consecutive patients with essential mixed cryoglobulinemia (EMC). Mononuclear cells tested immediately after isolation expressed significantly higher PCA than cells from a matched control group (P less than 0.01). PCA generated by patients' cells after incubation at 37 degrees C for four hours without any stimulant was significantly higher than that produced by control cells (P less than 0.001). Lower mononuclear cell PCA was observed in the subgroup of patients treated with low doses of prednisone than in untreated patients. In two patients given high-dosage prednisone, cell PCA was markedly reduced. These findings suggest that mononuclear cells may be activated for PCA production in vivo by cryoglobulins or other unknown stimuli. Mononuclear phagocytes, by producing PCA in vivo, might be directly implicated in the local fibrin deposition in tissue lesions of EMC.

Topics: Adult; Aged; Blood Coagulation Factors; Cryoglobulinemia; Cyclophosphamide; Female; Fibrin; Humans; Male; Middle Aged; Prednisone