COMPARISON OF PLASMA TISSUE FACTOR LEVELS IN UNSTABLE AND STABLE ANGINA-PECTORIS

We have reported that the plasma levels of plasma fibrinopeptide A and plasminogen activator inhibitor activity increase in patients with un stable angina and acute myocardial infarction, Tissue factor (TF) is a low-molecular-weight glycoprotein that binds to and acts on essential cofactor VII, and the resulting complex activates factors IX and X, i nitiating the coagulation cascade, We measured plasma TF antigen level s in 21 patients with unstable angina (on admission and after treatmen t), 27 patients with stable exertional angina, and 27 control subjects , The 3 groups were matched for age, gender, and other clinical variab les, The plasma TF antigen levels were higher in the unstable angina g roup than in the stable exertional angina and control groups (240 +/- 75 vs 184 +/- 46 and 177 +/- 37 pg/ml, p <0.01), There were no signifi cant differences in the plasma TF antigen levels between the stable ex ertional angina and the control groups, Furthermore, the plasma TF ant igen levels were reexamined after treatment in the 21 patients with un stable angina, The mean level in these 21 patients decreased after 2 w eeks of treatment (from 240 +/- 75 to 206 +/- 57 pg/ml, p <0.01), This study suggests that the plasma TF antigen levels correlate with disea se activity in patients with unstable angina, The increased plasma if antigen levels in patients with unstable angina may reflect intravascu lar procoagulant activity, (C) 1998 by Excerpta Medica, Inc.