Asparaginase decreases clotting factors in vitro: a possible pitfall?

L-Asparaginase treatment of leukemia patients causes hemostatic problems. To investigate whether L-asparaginase influences coagulation studies, 63 blood samples of 21 healthy male donors were incubated with L-asparaginase for 30 min at room temperature. After treatment with 100 IU/ml L-asparaginase plasma fibrinogen (P = 0.002), plasma antithrombin (P = 0.0002), plasma protein C (P = 0.0004), and plasma plasminogen (P = 0.0039) were decreased compared with controls. In contrast, a significant increase in plasma von Willebrand factor antigen (P = 0.08) and plasma thromboglobulin (P = 0.005) was observed. The decrease in plasma anti-thrombin (P = 0.001), plasma protein C (P = 0.0003), and plasma plasminogen (P = 0.0043) was also measurable after 0.05 IU/ml asparaginase treatment. The incubation with L-asparaginase was similar to the normal time from blood sampling to testing and hence the results suggest that L-asparaginase may directly attack proteins of the coagulation system during the interval between sampling and assay.