Meta-Biol

• Pathways

The common pathway consists of the cascade of activation events leading from the formation of activated factor X to the formation of active thrombin, the cleavage of fibrinogen by thrombin, and the formation of cleaved fibrin into a stable multimeric, cross-linked complex. Thrombin also efficiently catalyzes the activation of several factors required earlier in the clotting cascade, thus acting in effect as a positive regulator of clotting. At the same time, thrombin activates protein C, which in turn catalyzes the inactivation of several of these upstream factors, thereby limiting the clotting process. Thrombin can be trapped in stable, inactive complexes with: antithrombin-III (SERPINC1), a circulating blood protein; heparin cofactor II (SERPIND1) which inhibits thrombin in a dermatan sulfate–dependent manner in the arterial vasculature; protein C inhibitor (SERPINA5) that inhibits thrombin in complex with thrombomodulin; and Protease nexin-1 (SERPINE2) that inhibits thrombin at the vessel wall and platelet surface. The quantitative interplay among these positive and negative modulators is critical to the normal regulation of clotting, facilitating the rapid formation of a protective clot at the site of injury, while limiting and physically confining the process.
These events are outlined in the drawing: black arrows connect the substrates (inputs) and products (outputs) of individual reactions, and blue lines connect output activated enzymes to the other reactions that they catalyze.

The formation of a fibrin clot at the site of an injury to the wall of a normal blood vessel is an essential part of the process to stop blood loss after vascular injury. The reactions that lead to fibrin clot formation are commonly described as a cascade, in which the product of each step is an enzyme or cofactor needed for following reactions to proceed efficiently. The entire clotting cascade can be divided into three portions, the extrinsic pathway, the intrinsic pathway, and the common pathway. The extrinsic pathway begins with the release of tissue factor at the site of vascular injury and leads to the activation of factor X. The intrinsic pathway provides an alternative mechanism for activation of factor X, starting from the activation of factor XII. The common pathway consists of the steps linking the activation of factor X to the formation of a multimeric, cross-linked fibrin clot. Each of these pathways includes not only a cascade of events that generate the catalytic activities needed for clot formation, but also numerous positive and negative regulatory events.

Hemostasis is a physiological response that culminates in the arrest of bleeding from an injured vessel. Under normal conditions the vascular endothelium supports vasodilation, inhibits platelet adhesion and activation, suppresses coagulation, enhances fibrin cleavage and is anti-inflammatory in character. Under acute vascular trauma, vasoconstrictor mechanisms predominate and the endothelium becomes prothrombotic, procoagulatory and proinflammatory in nature. This is achieved by a reduction of endothelial dilating agents: adenosine, NO and prostacyclin; and by the direct action of ADP, serotonin and thromboxane on vascular smooth muscle cells to elicit their contraction (Becker et al. 2000). The chief trigger for the change in endothelial function that leads to the formation of a haemostatic thrombus is the loss of the endothelial cell barrier between blood and extracellular matrix components (Ruggeri 2002). Circulating platelets identify and discriminate areas of endothelial lesions; here, they adhere to the exposed sub endothelium. Their interaction with the various thrombogenic substrates and locally generated or released agonists results in platelet activation. This process is described as possessing two stages, firstly, adhesion - the initial tethering to a surface, and secondly aggregation - the platelet-platelet cohesion (Savage & Cattaneo et al. 2001). Three mechansism contribute to the loss of blood following vessel injury. The vessel constricts, reducing the loss of blood. Platelets adhere to the site of injury, become activated and aggregate with fibrinogen into a soft plug that limits blood loss, a process termed primary hemostasis. Proteins and small molecules are released from granules by activated platelets, stimulating the plug formation process. Fibrinogen from plasma forms bridges between activated platelets. These events initiate the clotting cascade (secondary hemostasis). Negatively-charged phospholipids exposed at the site of injury and on activated platelets interact with tissue factor, leading to a cascade of reactions that culminates with the formation of an insoluble fibrin clot.