Related Experiment Video
Updated: May 21, 2026

Extracellular Vesicle Tissue Factor Activity Assay
Published on: December 29, 2023
Tissue factor isoforms in cancer and coagulation: may the best isoform win
Begüm Kocatürk1, Henri H Versteeg
1Einthoven Laboratory for Experimental Vascular Medicine, Leiden University Medical Centre, Leiden, The Netherlands.
Abstract:
Tissue factor (TF), the trigger of blood coagulation, is a 47 kDa membrane protein that also impacts on non-hemostatic processes, such as atherosclerosis, primary tumor growth and metastasis. TF binding to its ligand FVIIa induces activation of protease-activated receptor-2 and this event is thought to considerably influence atherosclerosis and tumor angiogenesis. TF-dependent activation of the coagulation cascade, rather than PAR-2 activation, then leads to the potentiation of metastasis. Importantly, a soluble alternatively spliced isoform of TF (asTF) has been discovered, but the function of asTF in hemostatic and non-hemostatic events is poorly understood. In this review, we aim to present a side-by-side evaluation of normally-spliced, full length TF (flTF) and asTF with regard to coagulant function, atherosclerosis, tumor progression and malignancy-associated thrombosis.
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