Enhancement of tissue factor following ischemic-reperfusion injury in rats

To evaluate the involvement of tissue factor (TF) in blood coagulation reflecting injury of the blood vessels induced by reperfusion following ischemic treatment in rat abdominal blood vessels in vivo, both TF expression and prothrombin time (PTT), which is used as a marker of coagulation, were measured after ischemic-reperfusion treatment. TF expression was significantly increased at 0 and 5 min after reperfusion following a 30 min period of vessel ligation, while the PTT was significantly shortened at 5 and 10 min. On the other hand, the change of TF expression and PTT were not detected in the animals ligated vessel for 15 min. These results suggest that TF plays an important role in the injury after reperfusion following ischemia.