[Activated factor VII as a new cardiovascular risk factor of atherothrombotic disease]

Factor VII (FVII) is a plasma vitamin K-dependent glycoprotein that plays an important role in the initiation of tissue factor-induced coagulation (extrinsic pathway of blood coagulation). An increase in FVII coagulant activity (FVIIc) has been proposed as an independent risk factor for coronary artery disease. Recently, the coagulation assay using soluble tissue factor(sTF) enables us to measure the plasma levels of the activated form of factor VII(FVIIa) without the effect of the FVII zymogen form. We have developed the fluorogenic assay for FVIIa using sTF and measured the plasma FVIIa in atherosclerotic diseases. The FVIIa level in the Japanese was lower than that reported in Caucasians, suggesting that the incidence of ishemic heart disease is lower in the former. The FVIIa level was higher in the patients with cardiovascular diseases (ischemic heart disease and cerebral infarction), non-insulin-dependent diabetic mellitus, hypertension with microalbuminuria, and renal failure than in the healthy controls. The FVIIa levels were also increased in non-insulin-dependent diabetic patients, and this FVIIa increase was positively correlated with urinary albumin excretion. Furthermore, FVIIa levels were not correlated with the levels of lipids and the activity of hepatic synthesis, indicating that FVIIa may be an independent risk factor for cardiovascular disease.