Donmez Ayhan, Aksu Kenan, Celik Handan Ak, Keser Gokhan, Cagirgan Seckin, Omay Serdar Bedii, Inal Vedat, Aydin Hikmet Hakan, Tombuloglu Murat, Doganavsargil Eker
Ege University Medical School Hospital, Department of Internal Medicine, Division of Hematology, 35100 Bornova, Izmir, Turkey.
Thromb Res. 2005;115(4):287-92. doi: 10.1016/j.thromres.2004.09.010.
Thrombin activatable fibrinolysis inhibitor (TAFI) is a procarboxypeptidase downregulating plasmin formation, thereby causing a tendency for thrombosis development. Since, Behçet's disease (BD) is a systemic vasculitis, which is commonly complicated by arterial and venous thrombosis, we aimed to find out plasma TAFI levels in BD, compared with healthy controls. We also searched whether plasma TAFI levels were significantly different between Behçet's subgroups with and without thrombosis.
In this study, 105 BD patients (M/F: 64/41; mean age 36+/-1 years), followed up by Ege University Rheumatology Department were enrolled. The exclusion criteria were hemophilia, hyperlipidemia, diabetes mellitus, hepatic diseases renal failure, antiphospholipid positivity, oral contraceptive use and pregnancy. Age-and sex-matched healthy controls (n=53) were also included. Plasma TAFI levels were measured by ELISA. Since TAFI is also an acute-phase reactant, we also measured other inflammatory markers such as C-reactive protein (CRP).
Plasma TAFI levels were significantly higher in Behçet's patients (91.1+/-7.4 ng/ml) compared with healthy controls (14.3+/-4.5 ng/ml) (P<0.001), but there were no significant difference between the subgroups with and without thrombosis. In BD, there was no correlation between plasma TAFI levels and CRP.
Regardless of manifest thrombosis, plasma TAFI levels in BD were significantly higher than in healthy controls. High TAFI levels might possibly contribute to the thrombotic tendency in BD. Future studies investigating TAFI gene polymorphism and functional activity are clearly needed, to clarify the exact role of TAFI in Behçet's thrombosis.
凝血酶激活的纤维蛋白溶解抑制因子（TAFI）是一种前羧肽酶，可下调纤溶酶的形成，从而导致血栓形成倾向。由于白塞病（BD）是一种全身性血管炎，常并发动脉和静脉血栓形成，我们旨在找出BD患者与健康对照者的血浆TAFI水平。我们还研究了有血栓形成和无血栓形成的白塞病亚组之间血浆TAFI水平是否存在显著差异。
本研究纳入了105例由伊兹密尔艾杰大学风湿病科随访的BD患者（男/女：64/41；平均年龄36±1岁）。排除标准为血友病、高脂血症、糖尿病、肝脏疾病、肾衰竭、抗磷脂抗体阳性、使用口服避孕药和妊娠。还纳入了年龄和性别匹配的健康对照者（n = 53）。采用酶联免疫吸附测定法（ELISA）测量血浆TAFI水平。由于TAFI也是一种急性期反应物,我们还测量了其他炎症标志物，如C反应蛋白（CRP）。
与健康对照者（14.3±4.5 ng/ml）相比，白塞病患者的血浆TAFI水平显著更高（91.1±7.4 ng/ml）（P<0.001），但有血栓形成和无血栓形成的亚组之间无显著差异。在BD中，血浆TAFI水平与CRP之间无相关性。
无论是否有明显血栓形成，BD患者的血浆TAFI水平均显著高于健康对照者。高TAFI水平可能有助于BD的血栓形成倾向。显然需要未来的研究来调查TAFI基因多态性和功能活性，以阐明TAFI在白塞病血栓形成中的确切作用。
