title: The role of soluble cross-linked fibrin in D dimer immunoreactivity of plasmic digests.
abstract: Monoclonal antibody DD/3B6 reacts with a site near the gamma gamma isopeptide cross link and has been used to detect cross-linked fibrin degradation products in plasma as a marker for clot lysis. However, interpretation of the results is potentially complicated, because soluble cross-linked fibrin polymers contain a gamma gamma cross-link and may also react with the antibody before or after plasmic degradation. We have prepared plasmic digests of fibrinogen, soluble cross-linked fibrin polymers, and cross-linked particulate fibrin clot, have characterized their composition by electrophoresis, and have compared their D dimer immunoreactivities. Undegraded soluble cross-linked fibrin polymer showed no reactivity below 20 micrograms/ml, indicating that the epitope recognized by DD/3B6 is poorly reactive before plasmic degradation. The D dimer immunoreactivity of plasmic digests of particulate or of soluble cross-linked fibrin increased with progressive degradation, with stage 3 digests having 20-fold to 40-fold higher immunoreactivity than stage 1 digests. A stage 3 digest of fully cross-linked particulate fibrin reacted fourfold and 10-fold more than stage 3 digests of soluble fibrin polymers and untreated fibrinogen, which contained 21% and 8.5% soluble fibrin, respectively. Thus, D dimer immunoreactivity in stage 3 digests correlated with the amount of soluble cross-linked fibrin polymer in the undegraded starting material. These findings demonstrate that degradation of soluble or particulate cross-linked fibrin increases D dimer immunoreactivity progressively, with maximal reaction attained with stage 3 digests.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
authors.affiliation: Department of Medicine, University of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry, NY.
authors.forename: B
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Brenner
authors.forename: C W
authors.initials: CW
authors.lastname: Francis
authors.forename: V J
authors.initials: VJ
authors.lastname: Marder
mesh_terms: D003432:Cross-Linking Reagents; D004587:Electrophoresis, Agar Gel; D004591:Electrophoresis, Polyacrylamide Gel; D004797:Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay; D005337:Fibrin / Q000276:immunology*; D005338:Fibrin Fibrinogen Degradation Products / Q000032:analysis / Q000276:immunology*; D005340:Fibrinogen / Q000276:immunology*; D006801:Humans
chemical_list: D003432:Cross-Linking Reagents; D005338:Fibrin Fibrinogen Degradation Products; C036309:fibrin fragment D; D005337:Fibrin; D005340:Fibrinogen