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Updated: Feb 10, 2026

Detection and Isolation of Apoptotic Bodies to High Purity
Published on: August 12, 2018
Apoptotic vesicles: deathly players in cancer-associated coagulation
Morad-Remy Muhsin-Sharafaldine1, Alexander Donald McLellan1
1Department of Microbiology & Immunology, University of Otago, Dunedin, New Zealand.
Abstract:
Although cancer is associated with coagulation disorders, it is still unclear how the combination of tumor cell and host factors enhance the hypercoagulable state of cancer patients. Emerging evidence points to a central role for tumor endosomal and plasma membrane-derived vesicular components in the pathogenesis of cancer-related thrombosis. In particular, tumor cell membranes and extracellular vesicles (EV) harbor lipids and proteinaceous coagulation factors able to initiate multiple points within the coagulation matrix. The impact of chemotherapy upon a host already burdened with a hypercoagulable state increases the risk of pathological coagulation. We argue that chemotherapy-induced EV harbor the most active components for cancer related thrombosis and discuss how membrane components of the host and tumor act to initiate coagulation to enhance thrombotic risk in cancer patients.
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