Classifications

• • G—PHYSICS
  • G01—MEASURING; TESTING
  • G01N—INVESTIGATING OR ANALYSING MATERIALS BY DETERMINING THEIR CHEMICAL OR PHYSICAL PROPERTIES
  • G01N33/00—Investigating or analysing materials by specific methods not covered by groups G01N1/00 - G01N31/00
  • G01N33/48—Biological material, e.g. blood, urine; Haemocytometers
  • G01N33/50—Chemical analysis of biological material, e.g. blood, urine; Testing involving biospecific ligand binding methods; Immunological testing
  • G01N33/86—Chemical analysis of biological material, e.g. blood, urine; Testing involving biospecific ligand binding methods; Immunological testing involving blood coagulating time or factors, or their receptors
• • G—PHYSICS
  • G01—MEASURING; TESTING
  • G01N—INVESTIGATING OR ANALYSING MATERIALS BY DETERMINING THEIR CHEMICAL OR PHYSICAL PROPERTIES
  • G01N2333/00—Assays involving biological materials from specific organisms or of a specific nature
  • G01N2333/435—Assays involving biological materials from specific organisms or of a specific nature from animals; from humans
  • G01N2333/46—Assays involving biological materials from specific organisms or of a specific nature from animals; from humans from vertebrates
  • G01N2333/4609—Assays involving biological materials from specific organisms or of a specific nature from animals; from humans from vertebrates from reptiles
  • G01N2333/4613—Snake venom
  • G01N2333/4616—Snake venom from Russell's viper
• • G—PHYSICS
  • G01—MEASURING; TESTING
  • G01N—INVESTIGATING OR ANALYSING MATERIALS BY DETERMINING THEIR CHEMICAL OR PHYSICAL PROPERTIES
  • G01N2333/00—Assays involving biological materials from specific organisms or of a specific nature
  • G01N2333/435—Assays involving biological materials from specific organisms or of a specific nature from animals; from humans
  • G01N2333/745—Assays involving non-enzymic blood coagulation factors
  • G01N2333/7456—Factor V
• • G—PHYSICS
  • G01—MEASURING; TESTING
  • G01N—INVESTIGATING OR ANALYSING MATERIALS BY DETERMINING THEIR CHEMICAL OR PHYSICAL PROPERTIES
  • G01N2333/00—Assays involving biological materials from specific organisms or of a specific nature
  • G01N2333/90—Enzymes; Proenzymes
  • G01N2333/914—Hydrolases (3)
  • G01N2333/948—Hydrolases (3) acting on peptide bonds (3.4)
  • G01N2333/95—Proteinases, i.e. endopeptidases (3.4.21-3.4.99)
  • G01N2333/964—Proteinases, i.e. endopeptidases (3.4.21-3.4.99) derived from animal tissue
  • G01N2333/96425—Proteinases, i.e. endopeptidases (3.4.21-3.4.99) derived from animal tissue from mammals
  • G01N2333/96427—Proteinases, i.e. endopeptidases (3.4.21-3.4.99) derived from animal tissue from mammals in general
  • G01N2333/9643—Proteinases, i.e. endopeptidases (3.4.21-3.4.99) derived from animal tissue from mammals in general with EC number
  • G01N2333/96433—Serine endopeptidases (3.4.21)
  • G01N2333/96441—Serine endopeptidases (3.4.21) with definite EC number
  • G01N2333/96444—Factor X (3.4.21.6)

Definitions

• the present invention is concerned with the process of blood coagulation which involves an extremely complicated series of interactions generally known as the coagulation cascade, and which is well described in Thrombosis and Hemorrhage, Sec.
• Figure 1 displays a part of the blood coagulation cascade.
• Coagulation factors are inactive zymogens or inactive cofactors which, when cleaved by an active protease, are activated (as indicated by the subscript "a") and in turn activate the next zymogen or the precursor of a cofactor in the cascade.
• Tissue factor which activates factor VII to its activated form Vila.
• Tissue factor and factor Villa form a complex which activates factor X at the common pathway.
• Factor XII In the intrinsic pathway, negatively charged surfaces are exposed to the action of factor XII and prekallikrein in the bloodstream.
• Factor XII is activated to factor Xlla which activates factor XI to factor XIa.
• Factor XIa activates factor IX to IXa.
• Factor IXa Factor IXa
• Factor Villa, phosphohpids and free calcium ions are required for the formation of the tenase complex, which activates factor X.
• Factor Xa Factor Xa, factor Va, phospholipids and free calcium ions are required for the formation of the prothrombinase complex with which this invention is more particularly concerned, which activates prothrombin to thrombin.
• Thrombin is the "key enzyme" of coagulation and is linked to many positive and negative feedback actions and also with the clotting process of blood itself. Positive feedbacks include: activation of factors V, VIII, X, and XI. Negative feedbacks include: activation of protein C in the presence of thrombomodulin. The clotting process includes the cleavage of fibrinogen to fibrin and the activation of platelets.
• antithrombin an inhibitor with a relatively broad spectrum whose activity is greatly enhanced by heparins.
• heparinoids and glycosaminoglycans inhibits factor Xa, thrombin, factor XIa and factor Xlla.
• Heparin cofactor II is a more specific endogenous inhibitor which binds to thrombin and whose activity is also accelerated by heparin and additionally by dermatan sulfate.
• Activated Protein C inactivates factor Villa and factor Va.
• Tissue factor pathway inhibitor (TFPI) inhibits factor Xa and the tissue factor/factor Vila complex in a factor Xa dependent fashion.
• hirudin a protein from the salivary gland of the medicinal leech is a very potent thrombin inhibitor.
• Proteins from snake venoms can simulate certain factors and lead to coagulation and clotting. In particular some snake venoms simulate factor Xa and/or factor Va and can be used in in vitro assays for anticoagulants.
• vitamin K antagonists such as warfarin or other coumarin-derived oral anticoagulants.
• These substances lead to impaired coagulation activity of the blood by interfering with the formation of certain coagulation factors. As they do not inhibit already formed coagulation factors they need several days, however, until a stable anticoagulation is achieved. In many situations rapid anticoagulation is necessary.
• One strategy for attaining anticoagulation in patients is the direct or indirect inhibition of activated coagulation factors. The inhibition of certain factors can be achieved using heparins and heparinoids, which require antithrombin and/or heparin cofactor II from plasma, and direct natural or synthetic inhibitors of factor Ha (thrombin) and Xa (e.g.
• hirudin argatroban, tick anticoagulant. All these substances mainly target activated factor X (FXa) and/or thrombin. It is important to use an appropriate intensity of anticoagulation since both too high as well as inappropriately low anticoagulation might cause a loss of organ tissue or even death of the patient.
• UHF unfractionated heparin
• LMWH low molecular weight heparins
• LMWH low molecular weight heparins
• aXa anti-factor Xa activity
• Methods for measuring the effect on coagulation and/or the concentration in blood or plasma of direct or indirect inhibitors of activated coagulation factors include:
• clotting methods e.g. the aPTT assay (activated partial thromboplastin time), the ACT assay (activated clotting time), the TT assay (thrombin time), the ECT assay (ecarin clotting time) and the Heptest ® assay.
• the clotting methods are characterised by the fact that coagulation is activated by different regimens and the time from coagulation activation until detection of clotting in the sample is measured.
• the clotting time can be converted into direct concentration units by establ ishing a calibration curve with appropriate calibrating reagents. Analysis of anti-factor Xa and anti-factor Ha using chromogenic substrates
• a plasma sample is added to a reagent containing a defined amount of factor Ila or factor Xa (in certain assays antithrombin is also added).
• factor Xa/IIa is partly inactivated by the anticoagulant itself or by complexes of the anticoagulant with endogenous or exogenous antithrombin.
• a chromogenic substrate is added and degraded by residual factor Xa/IIa, enhancing optical density which is detected optically.
• the anti-factor Xa/IIa activity or the anticoagulant concentration is calculated.
• a blood or (more usually) a plasma sample is added to a reagent containing a contact activator (often substances with negatively charged surfaces like ellagic acid, celite or kaolin) and phospholipids, and is incubated for 2-10 minutes in the absence of calcium ions.
• the coagulation cascade is activated by the intrinsic coagulation pathway through the addition of calcium ions.
• the time recorded from the addition of Ca 2+ to the sample until detection of fibrin formation is the activated partial thromboplastin time (aPTT).
• the PTT assay has the advantages that it is a widely available test, the clotting method is simple and a large experience base for the monitoring of anticoagulant therapy exists.
• the aPTT is a relatively poorly standardised method, it is frequently employed for the monitoring of unfractionated heparin (UFH), whereas LMWH cannot be monitored with this assay due to its poor responsiveness.
• UHF unfractionated heparin
• LMWH cannot be monitored with this assay due to its poor responsiveness.
• the assay suffers from a non-linear dose-response relationship to direct thrombin inhibitors like hirudin, too high a sensitivity to UFH (overdosage may not give a detectable endpoint), poor standardisation among different instruments, reagents, even different lots of the same reagent.
• the dose response curve for heparin is not linear.
• contact phase the initiation of coagulation by contact activation
• aPTT assay neither gives a very realistic estimation of the anticoagulation achieved in the patient, nor assesses anticoagulation with an appropriate specificity to the anticoagulant treatment
• the assay is also sensitive to the presence of lupus anticoagulants
• the Ecarin clotting time assay is a clot based assay used for monitoring the effect of direct antithrombin agents Ecarin, a purified protease obtained from the venom of the snake Echis carinat s, converts prothrombin to meizothrombin (a precursor of thrombin), producing a clotting end point in citrated whole blood and plasma Antithrombin agents such as hirudin bind to meizothrombin prolonging the Ecarin clotting time
• the ECT assay is highly affected by low prothrombin levels of the sample plasma
• This method consists in principle in the addition of blood to kaolin, ellagic acid or celite, and measurement of the time interval until fibrin formation in the sample
• This method is widely available It is a point-of-care method with a short turnaround time and a broad measuring range which allows monitoring of high-dose hepa ⁇ nisation during cardiovascular surgery
• the ACT assay has many limitations it has a poor correlation to the anticoagulant concentration (as assessed by chromogenic substrate analysis), low sensitivity to lower heparin concentrations (up to 0 7 U UFH/ml with a normal ACT), low sensitivity to LMWH, long clotting times and a very strong dependence on the patient's coagulation factors
• the ACT can not be applied for hirudin monitoring because there is no clear relationship between the degree of prolongation and the hirudin concentration
• the method consists in the addition of a certain amount of thrombin to the plasma sample and assessment of the time interval until clotting is detected
• the method has the advantage of specifically assessing thrombin inhibition Although this simple test is a direct measure for the antithrombin activity in plasma, it is not widely used due to its poor reliability and bad standardisation In addition, no assessment of factoi Xa inhibition is possible.
• the narrow measuring range is strongly dependent on the added thrombin concentration and different results can be obtained in response to thrombin concentration, species, presence of calcium and the volume ratio of thrombin and sample.
• the assay is based in principle on the incubation of a citrated plasma sample with bovine factor Xa. After a certain incubation time, a reagent containing phospholipids and bovine plasma is added followed by a calcium chloride solution for re-calcification.
• This assay consists in principle in the incubation of a sample of plasma or blood with factor Xa. After a certain incubation period, a reagent containing calcium chloride, phospholipids and a bovine plasma fraction is added and the time until detection of clotting is recorded. The bovine plasma fraction is reported by the manufacturer to be rich in factor V and fibrinogen, while it is depleted of prothrombin and other coagulation factors and thus will not clot by itself. Like the original assay of Yin, the method provides a sensitive assessment of
• the Heptest ® has a low sensitivity to direct thrombin inhibitors such as hirudin; high standardisation of the bovine plasma fraction is mandatory; the effect of the bovine plasma fraction on the patient's coagulation system is not absolutely defined and its performance on optical analysers can be a problem as the optical signal is not conclusive, as will become apparent.
• the Heptest ® is a simple method it is not very widely used.
• the present invention is aimed at providing a simple and reliable hematological assay which is both sensitive and adjustable in sensitivity to cover the monitoring of a variety of anticoagulants, notably LMWH, UFH, heparinoids, dermatan sulphate, natural or synthetic inhibitors of factor Xa and inhibitors of factor Ila such as argatroban or hirudin, and in its preferred form provides a stable base line when used with optical coagulometers.
• the invention has many applications in addition to the monitoring of anticoagulant treatment as will become apparent.
• the blood coagulation potential represents the ability of a patient's blood to coagulate or more specifically its ability to activate or inhibit coagulation factors.
• This is defined for convenience in this specification as a value, which may be given in terms of comparison with, or ratio to, a normal value or standard, of the ability of a sample, e.g. of human whole blood or plasma, or of other mammalian body fluid containing whole blood or plasma, to coagulate to the point of thrombin formation or clotting.
• the value may be measured in terms of the time taken from induction of coagulation e.g. by the addition to a sample of one or more coagulation accelerants such as phospholipids and calcium ions.
• a value indicative of the coagulation potential can be (or can be inferred from) an indirectly measured value, e.g. an indicator value from an added analytical accessory agent, e.g. a chromogenic substrate.
• an indirectly measured value e.g. an indicator value from an added analytical accessory agent, e.g. a chromogenic substrate.
• This may give a value e.g. for the activity of a component such as factor Xa (which activates prothrombin to thrombin) or of the activity of thrombin.
• prothrombinase complex catalyses thrombin formation at a rate that is 300,000 times more efficient than factor Xa acting alone.
• prothrombinase complex requires the presence of phospholipid (or platelets) and calcium ions (although other ions can be substituted.)
• Analytical accessory agent This is defined as an agent added to a reaction system, e.g. to a sample prior to or, more normally, following treatment to enable the provision of a conveniently observable or otherwise detectable activity.
• An accessory agent commonly used is a chromogenic substrate: a peptide with distinctive coloured groups which are released when the substrate is acted on by e.g. factor Xa and/or thrombin.
• Such agents can be specifically designed either for the detection of factor Xa activity or for the detection of thrombin formation.
• the use of peptide substrates is discussed in Witt, Irene, Test Systems with Synthetic Peptide Substrates in Haemostaseology, Eur. J. Clin. Chem. Clin. Biochem., vol. 29, 1991 , pages 355 - 374.
• the invention provides an activator reagent for use in blood coagulation assays comprising in combination in an aqueous solution preferably buffered to a pH from 6 to 9 (preferably7 to 8):
• the activator reagent also contains a predetermined amount of phospholipid.
• ingredients (a) and (b) used in the activator reagent are preferably in a purified form substantially free from other blood components such as factors and cofactors whether in activated form or not, since such impurities might affect the results obtained and/or the stability of the test system employed.
• (b) consists essentially of snake venom containing factor V activator and depleted in factor X activating components. Most preferably (b) consists essential ly of factor V activator from purified Russell 's Viper venom (RVV-V).
• the activator reagent may consist essentially of: a predetermined amount from 0.01 to 10 nkat/ml factor Xa, a predetermined amount from 0.05 to 5 U/ml RVV-V, and (optionally) a predetermined amount from 1 to 200 ⁇ g/ml phospholipids, in an aqueous buffer solution containing from 10 to 100 mM Tris/HCl, from 0.6 to 1.2% w/v NaCl and from 0.1 to 1.0% w/v albumin at a pH of from 6 to 9 (preferably 7 to 8.)
• a preferred activator reagent consists essentially of 0.4 nkat/ml factor Xa, 4 U/ml RVV-V, and 50 ⁇ g/ml phospholipids from rabbit brain cephalin, in an aqueous buffer solution containing 50 mM Tris/HCl, 0.9% w/v NaCl and 0.5% w/v albumin at a pH of 7.4.
• Another preferred activator reagent consists essentially o 0.2 nkat/ml factor Xa, 2 U/ml RVV-V,
• the invention also includes a lyophilised preparation of an activator solution as described above.
• a hematological assay in which the blood coagulation potential of a body fluid is assessed by reacting a sample of the body fluid with a amount of an activator reagent comprising: (a) a predetermined amount of factor Xa or a hematologically equivalent mutant thereof, and (b) a predetermined amount of factor Va, a hematologically equivalent mutant thereof or an enzyme activating endogenous factor V, in an aqueous solution preferably buffered to a pH from 6 to 9 (preferably7 to 8), if necessary inducing coagulation by the addition of one or more coagulation accelerants, and establishing a value indicative of the coagulation potential.
• the required value may be established by measurement of the time for a said sample of predetermined amount to a reach a (directly or indirectly) detected onset of clotting, e.g. using an optical or mechanical coagulometer, or alternatively by the addition to the treated sample of an analytical accessory agent providing a detectable value.
• the analytical reagent may be a synthetic substrate specific to measurement of thrombin activity or of factor Xa activity and detecting the appropriate activity. Although chromogenic substrates are better known and generally preferred, a substrate having fluorogenic, amperogenic or luminogenic properties may be utilised.
• the required value may also be established by addition to the reaction system of particles exhibiting mechanical, magnetic or electrical behaviour during coagulation and detecting appropriate behaviour.
• the reference sample may be a comparable sample of normal body fluid, e.g. blood or plasma or comprising blood or plasma.
• the assay may be used for the determination of a blood coagulation component or treatment additive in a sample of body fluid comprising a predetermined amount of human or animal blood or plasma by comparing the coagulation potential with that of one or more standards.
• the coagulation potential may be compared with that of a comparable sample of normal body fluid and/or with that of a comparable sample of body fluid lacking the said component (or additive) or containing a known excess of the said component (or additive).
• the said value is established by detecting one of:
• the activator reagent includes a predetermined amount of natural or synthetic phospholipids or platelets and the method includes the addition to the reaction system of a coagulation accelerant comprising a predetermined amount of calcium (or functionally equivalent) ions.
• Phospholipids preferably in predetermined amount, are normally added in an in itial stage, e.g. in the activator reagent and/or prior to an incubation step although the invention includes the possible utilisation of phospholipids as an accelerant; in such a case calcium ions could be added with the activator reagent
• the assay is preferably conducted on human plasma, but is applicable to human whole blood (or animal blood or plasma).
• human whole blood or animal blood or plasma.
• no prothrombinase complex is formed until coagulation is initiated by the addition of calcium ions or other coagulation accelerant.
• factor Xa added in excess in the inventive assay, is progressively inactivated by any anticoagulant present which is effective against factor Xa.
• the prothrombinase complex has been established or assembled factor Xa is protected against any further inactivation and the final activity can be determined in a stable manner.
• the presence of remaining factor Xa in the final optical or other determination step may contribute to the stability of the results obtained.
• the assay of the invention is particularly useful for monitoring the effect upon the blood coagulation of a patient of a dosage of anticoagulant especially natural or synthetic inhibitors of factor Xa and/or thrombin (factor Ila), and in particu lar unfractionated heparin (UFH), low molecular weight heparins (LMWH), dermatan sulphate, argatroban antithrombin, modified hirudin and hirudin.
• It may be used for monitoring the effect upon the blood coagulation of a patient of a dosage of antibody against one or more blood coagulation components or for assessing the blood coagulation potential of a patient suspected of a deficiency or superabundance of one or more blood coagulation components such as coagulation factors, which may be anticoagulant or coagulant enzymes or proenzymes.
• It may be used for assessing the blood coagulation potential of whole blood or plasma suspected of the presence of an antibody against one or more blood coagulation components, e.g. lupus anticoagulant.
• blood coagulation components e.g. lupus anticoagulant.
• a snake venom containing a factor V activating component and depleted in factor X activating component is preferred.
• the preferred source is factor V activator from purified Russell's Viper venom (RVV-V). This is described in e.g. Tokunaga et. al., The Factor V-activating Enzyme (RVV- V) from Russell 's Viper Venom, Journal of Biological Chemistry, vol. 263 1988, pages 17471 - 17481 and is obtainable commercially from Pentapharm AG, Basel.
• a preferred method comprises the steps of: mixing a sample of the body fluid with an amount of the activator reagent, incubating the mixture, adding a said accelerator, (and optionally an analytical accessory agent), and establishing a value indicative of the coagulation potential.
• the preferred assay comprises the steps of i.
• an activator reagent containing: a predetermined amount from 0.01 to 10 nkat/ml factor Xa, a predetermined amount from 0.05 to 5 U/ml RVV-V, and (optionally) a predetermined amount from 1 to 200 ⁇ g/ml phospholipids, in an aqueous buffer solution containing from 10 to 200 mM Tris/HCl, from 0.6 to 1 .2% w/v NaCl and from 0.01 to 1.0%) w/v albumin, ii. mixing a predetermined amount from 1 to 100 ⁇ l citrated (or otherwise Ca- bound), platelet-poor plasma with a predetermined amount from 1 to 100 ⁇ l of the activator reagent, iii. incubating the mixture, iv. adding a predetermined amount from 10 to 100 ⁇ l of from 2 to 100 mM CaCl 2 , v. optionally adding an analytical accessory agent providing a detectable value, and vi. establishing the said value.
• the buffer is preferably at a pH from 6 to 9, more preferably 7 to 8 and most preferably pH 7.4
• the method comprises the steps of i. preparing an activator reagent containing:
• nkat/ml factor Xa 4 U/ml RVV-V, and 50 ⁇ g/ml phospholipids from rabbit brain cephalin, in an aqueous buffer solution containing 50 mM Tris/HCl, 0.9% w/v NaCl and 0.5% w/v albumin at pH 7.4, ii. mixing 50 ⁇ l citrated platelet-poor plasma with 50 ⁇ l of the activator reagent, iii. incubating the mixture for 3 minutes at 37°C, iv. adding 50 ⁇ l of from 25 mM CaCl 2 , and v. optionally adding an analytical accessory agent providing a detectable value, and vi. establishing the said value.
• a preferred assay of this kind comprises the steps of i. preparing an activator reagent containing:
• 0.2 nkat/ml factor Xa 2 U/ml RVV-V, 25 ⁇ g/ml phospholipids from rabbit brain cephalin, in an aqueous buffer solution containing 25 mM Tris/HCl, 0.45% w/v NaCl and 0.25%o w/v albumin, and 12.5 mM CaCl 2 , at pH 7.4 ii. mixing 50 ⁇ l citrated, platelet-poor plasma with 100 ⁇ l of the activator reagent, iii. optionally adding an analytical accessory agent providing a detectable value, and iv. establishing the said value.
• the said value is established by measuring the time from addition of CaCl 2 to the onset of clotting using an optical coagulometer.
• the sample may be diluted in plasma depleted only in the suspected coagulant or anticoagulant and the value established compared with that found with the depleted plasma and/or normal plasma.
• a plasma sample may also be pre-diluted with normal plasma, a plasma fraction or one or more single coagulation factors so as to reduce the influence of matrix effects or to minimize the dependency of plasma coagulation factors, or it may be treated with a substance inactivating heparin or heparin-like substances thereby enhancing specificity to non-heparin anticoagulants.
• the assay may be carried out on a plasma sample wh ich has been treated with a substance which activates or inactivates one or more coagulation factors.
• the invention includes a kit for use in blood coagulation assays comprising in combination:
• kits will include instructions for carrying out an assay as described. Equivalent lyophilised preparations can be used.
• the analytical accessory agent may comprise one or more solutions or lyophilised preparations of synthetic substrates for thrombin and/or factor Xa determination.
• Figure 1 is a diagram (described above) illustrating the blood coagulation cascade
• Figure 2 is a graph illustrating typical dose response lines for LMWH, UFH and hirudin in a Heptest ® assay
• Figure 3 is a graph showing optical signal curves produced in a typical Heptest ® assay
• Figure 4 is a diagram illustrating the principle of the present assay
• Figure 5 is a graph similar to Figure 2 illustrating typical dose response lines for LMWH
• Figure 6 is a graph similar to Figure 3 showing optical signal curves produced in an assay according to the invention
• Figure 7 is a graph illustrating the effect produced by adding additional amounts of factor Xa
• Figure 8 is a graph illustrating the effect produced by omitting the incubation step
• Figure 9 is a graph illustrating results obtained using the inventive assay and using the Heptest ® on a patient treated with an oral anticoagulant, and.
• Figure 10 is a graph showing the correlation of assays according to the invention with assays performed according to the antifactor Xa assay, performed on volunteers treated with LMWH. Preferred forms of the invention
• Figure 2 shows the dose-response relationship of the Heptest ® with the common anticoagulants LMWH, UFH and recombinant hirudin (r-hirudin) in human normal reference plasma .
• This figure demonstrates the relatively poor responsiveness of the Heptest ® for these direct thrombin inhibitors, in this case of hirudin.
• Figure 3 shows optical signals of the Heptest ® assay on the Behring Coagulation System (BCS) microcoagulometer at 405 nm.
• the baseline of the combination sample (citrated plasma prepared as recommended in the Heptest ® package) is not stable.
• a decrease of absorbency does not allow the exact detection of the beginning of clot formation.
• the entire reaction curve displays noise which may have a negative influence on precision, a disadvantage when modern automated coagulometers are used for endpoint detection.
• a preferred assay according to the invention permits the assessment of the coagulation potential of samples using a clotting method, based on the use of two, and preferably three, activating agents in predetermined concentrations together with the use of calcium ions, normally to initiate the beginning of clotting.
• FIG. 4 illustrates the activation procedure diagrammatically. Components of the activator reagent are shown in large bold letters.
• prothrombinase complex consisting of a predetermined amount of factor Xa, patient-own factor V activated using a predetermined amount of factor V- activator from Russell ' s Viper venom (RVV-V), phospholipids and CaCL. Re- calcification of citrated blood or plasma is employed to complete the assembly of the prothrombinase complex on the phospholipid surface and clotting begins.
• the inventive method employs a thrombin independent step for immediate complete activation of factor V of the sample to Va.
• excess factor V and/or other factors can be added in order to make the test system independent from changes in the activity of this factor.
• the added factors can be simply plasma or a plasma fraction. Purified or recombinant factors can be used or suitable mutations.
• An activator reagent was prepared having the following composition:
• the optical signals for the assay are shown in Figure 6.
• a very stable baseline is exhibited at about 0.5 nm on the Behring Coagulation System by comparison with Figure 3 and there is a sharp increase in turbidity at the onset of clotting.
• the signals are very conclusive and display a low noise level. It can therefore be expected that the assay can easily be adapted to different instruments with optical or mechanical detection of the onset of coagulation.
• hirudin 8 recombinant hirudin (Lipirudin ® from Hoechst Marrion Roussel, Bad Soden Reference plasma was obtained from Immuno, Vienna and reconstituted as instructed.
• Example 1 The procedure of Example 1 was followed with the exception that activating reagents with different concentrations of factor Xa (FXa) from 0.1 to 1 .6 nkat/ml were prepared and test samples prepared with 0, 0.5 and 1 U/ml of LMWH. The results are shown in Figure 7. It can be seen that unexpectedly good signals were obtained even with reduced concentration of factor Xa and a stable base line achieved even with heparinised samples. This discovery enables assays to be designed for a broad spectrum of unknown anti-coagulant concentrations, and a variety of different applications are possible, including: a) Assays for factor Xa and thrombin inactivation by the assessment of thrombin activity using substrates (e.g.
• chromogenic substrates which give detectable signals for thrombin.
• Assays of other unknowns such as activators, inhibitors or substrates which give detectable signals with factor Xa or thrombin.
• the activator reagent of Example 1 was diluted with an equal volume of 0.025 M calcium chloride solution to produce a reagent having the following composition:
• Example 4 50 ⁇ l test samples of citrated platelet-poor plasma containing varying amounts of LMWH, UFH and r-hirudin were mixed with 100 ⁇ l activator reagent and the time to onset of clotting measured as in Example 1 .
• the results shown in Figure 8 demonstrate a broad measuring range with particularly good results for UFH.
• samples were prepared from blood from a patient treated with an oral anticoagulant with an International Normalised Ratio (INR) of 3,2.
• oral anticoagulants are coumarin derivatives such as warfarin. These are competitive inhibitors of vitamin K in the gamma-carboxylation of Vitamin K dependent coagulation factors and primarily the respective carboxyproteins lacking in calcium binding capacity are formed. The activity of these factors is reduced.
• the samples contained added amounts of 0, 0.25 and 0.5 aXa U LMWH. These samples were subjected to a Heptest ® and to the procedure of Example 1. The results are shown graphically in Figure 9. It will be seen that the oral anticoagulant treatment had little or no effect on the results for LMWH activity in the inventive assay whereas a sharp difference appeared in the Heptest ® .
• UFH and r-hirudin (as in Example 1 ) are incubated with 87.4 ⁇ l of activator reagent (Example 1 ) for 5 minutes at 37°C.
• An accelerant solution is then added containing:
• Tris/HCl buffer 50 mM in 0.9% w/v NaCl, pH 7.4 562.5 ⁇ l Pefabloc(r), 10 mg/ml in 0.9% w/v NaCl 100 ⁇ l CaCl 2 , 25 mM l OO ⁇ l
• the inventive assay was compared to an anti-factor Xa activity assay using a chromogenic substrate.
• 30 samples taken from volunteers under LMWH treatment were assayed following the procedure of in Example 1 and using the "antifactor Xa activity assay" from Chromogenix, M ⁇ lndal, Sweden, following makers instructions.
• the results, as plotted in Figure 10, demonstrate a good correlation.
• the present activator reagent and activation procedure gives rise to numerous variations in assays and in other applications.
• the procedure may be varied to assay an unknown sample of one of the ingredients described.
• Thrombin formation may be detected by the addition of a synthetic substrate known for this purpose.
• the substrate may have chromogenic, fluorogenic, amperogenic, luminogenic or other measurable property.
• the substrate may for example be cleaved by thrombin to leave a detectable group.
• Known detection methods may be used for measuring viscosity, elasticity, flow characteristics, clot resonance, the movement of erythrocytes or the behaviour of added objects such as particles which alter their behaviour upon the onset of coagulation. For example the oscillation of added magnetic particles may be measured or the mechanical characteristics of added particles.
• Rapid immunological detection procedures with thrombin specific antibodies may be applied, e.g in conjunction with plasmon resonance or similar techniques
• a substance which activates endogenous factor Xa could be used, or a substance with a similar function to factor Xa, e.g. mutants of factor Xa, snake venom enzymes, or factor Xa-activating cysteine proteinase from tumor cells
• RVV-V or factor V activators from other snake venoms such as Akgistrodon species, Bothrops species, Vipera lebetina, Echis species or alternative activating substance
• certain applications may employ already activated factor V or a substance with a similar function to factor V, e.g. a mutant of factor V.
• Certain applications may employ other sources of phospholipids, e.g . i)
• the contribution of the patient's own phospholipid structures to coagulation may be assessed, e.g. by using a sample in which platelets are present
• Phospholipids may be assayed by using a two step procedure in which in one of the steps the unknown phospholipid is added
• the concentration of phosphohpids can be adjusted in order to minimise where necessary the potential interference of lupus anticoagulants or anti-phospholipid antibodies.
• the phospholipids may be of human, animal, plant or synthetic origin or a mixture of such
• the assay procedure can be made specific to hepa ⁇ n-independent inhibitors of factor X, II or V by the addition of substances which inactivate heparin, e g protamine hepa ⁇ nase or poh bren 6. Variations involving plasma
• the procedure may be performed with the addition of plasma, plasma fractions or single factors in order to correct factor deficiencies or in order to make the test more susceptible or less susceptible to certain mechanisms.
• added substance may include e.g.: i) Human normal plasma or plasma fractions or single factors or similar mutants, ii) Bovine (or other animal) normal plasma or plasma fractions or single factors or similar mutants.
• the procedure may be performed with the addition of synthetic substrates, activators or inhibitors of any one or selected combination of factors II, Ila, V, Va, X and Xa.
• the present invention includes a simple plasma clotting assay based on defined, readily available and easy to stabilise components.
• the results show linear dose-response relationships for LMWH, hirudin and UFH. These very good dose- response relationships appear to rely on anti-factor Ila and anti-factor Xa activity which is independent of earlier stages of the coagulation cascade and independent of factor V activation during the initiation of coagulation by thrombin generated from the samples' coagulation factors.
• the present technique uses the physiological pathway of prothrombin activation (using factor Xa, factor Va, phospholipids and calcium ions), which is of advantage for the assessment of physiologically relevant coagulation mechanisms and processes.
• the good optical signal, high precision, short measuring times and the ease of performance using the standard procedures of the aPTT and PT allow adaptability of the new procedure to different coagulation analysers.
• the Russell ' s Viper venom time assay employs both factor V and factor X activation by the venom, which results in varying factor Xa concentrations depending on the patient's factor X concentration.
• a more defined activation is achieved in the invention by the application of a defined excess factor Xa activity.
• the invention provides a procedure which allows a simple assay for the monitoring of LMWH, heparinoids, hirudins and UFH based on a single principle.
• a variety of further tests are possible when the activation regimen is combined with substances which activate or inhibit processes which affect factor V, X or II directly or indirectly (like the protein C system), or the use of indicator substrates.

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• 1999
  • 1999-12-15 WO PCT/EP1999/009952 patent/WO2001044493A2/en not_active Ceased
  • 1999-12-15 AU AU24318/00A patent/AU2431800A/en not_active Abandoned
• 2000
  • 2000-12-14 WO PCT/EP2000/012753 patent/WO2001044819A2/en not_active Ceased
  • 2000-12-14 JP JP2001545856A patent/JP4762472B2/ja not_active Expired - Lifetime
  • 2000-12-14 AU AU31593/01A patent/AU776845B2/en not_active Expired
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  • 2000-12-14 EP EP00991194A patent/EP1240528B1/en not_active Expired - Lifetime
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  • 2000-12-14 CA CA2392350A patent/CA2392350C/en not_active Expired - Lifetime
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