Tissue factor deficiency causes cardiac fibrosis and left ventricular dysfunction

  • R. Pawlinski
  • , A. Fernandes
  • , B. Kehrle
  • , B. Pedersen
  • , G. Parry
  • , J. Erlich
  • , R. Pyo
  • , D. Gutstein
  • , J. Zhang
  • , F. Castellino
  • , E. Melis
  • , P. Carmeliet
  • , G. Baretton
  • , T. Luther
  • , M. Taubman
  • , E. Rosen
  • , N. Mackman

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

94 Scopus citations

Abstract

Exposure of blood to tissue factor (TF) activates the extrinsic (TF: FVIIa) and intrinsic (FVIIIa:FIXa) pathways of coagulation. In this study, we found that mice expressing low levels of human TF (≈1% of wild-type levels) in an mTF-/- background had significantly shorter lifespans than wild-type mice, in part, because of spontaneous fatal hemorrhages. All low-TF mice exhibited a selective heart defect that consisted of hemosiderin deposition and fibrosis. Direct intracardiac measurement demonstrated a 30% reduction (P < 0.001) in left ventricular function in 8-month-old low-TF mice compared with age-matched wild-type mice. Mice expressing low levels of murine FVII (≈1% of wild-type levels) exhibited a similar pattern of hemosiderin deposition and fibrosis in their hearts. In contrast, FIX-/- mice, a model of hemophilia B, had normal hearts. Cardiac fibrosis in low-TF and low-FVII mice appears to be caused by hemorrhage from cardiac vessels due to impaired hemostasis. We propose that TF expression by cardiac myocytes provides a secondary hemostatic barrier to protect the heart from hemorrhage.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)15333-15338
Number of pages6
JournalProceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America
Volume99
Issue number24
DOIs
StatePublished - 26 Nov 2002

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