title: The pleiotropic role of the fibrinogen gamma' chain in hemostasis.
abstract: A fraction of fibrinogen contains a differently spliced gamma chain called gamma', which presents itself mainly as heterodimer with the common gammaA chain as gammaA/gamma' fibrinogen. The gamma' chain differs from the gammaA chain in its C-terminus and has important functional implications for fibrinogen. The presence of the gamma' chain modulates thrombin and FXIII activity, influences clot architecture, and eliminates a platelet-binding site. Associations of gammaA/gamma' fibrinogen levels with arterial and venous thrombosis have been reported, indicating that the functional effects of gammaA/gamma' fibrinogen may contribute to the pathology of thrombosis. This review summarizes the key biologic aspects of this interesting variant of fibrinogen and discusses inconsistencies in current reports.
authors.affiliation: Division of Cardiovascular & Diabetes Research, Section on Mechanisms of Thrombosis, Faculty of Medicine and Health, University of Leeds, Leeds LS2 9JT, United Kingdom. s.uittedewillige@leeds.ac.uk
authors.forename: Shirley
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Uitte de Willige
authors.forename: Kristina F
authors.initials: KF
authors.lastname: Standeven
authors.forename: Helen
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Philippou
authors.forename: Robert A S
authors.initials: RA
authors.lastname: Ariëns
mesh_terms: D017398:Alternative Splicing; D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D019281:Dimerization; D005176:Factor XIII / Q000378:metabolism; D015241:Fibrinogens, Abnormal / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics / Q000502:physiology* / Q000648:ultrastructure; D006487:Hemostasis / Q000235:genetics / Q000502:physiology*; D006801:Humans; D008855:Microscopy, Electron, Scanning; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D010974:Platelet Aggregation; D020836:Protein Structure, Quaternary; D011994:Recombinant Proteins / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism / Q000648:ultrastructure; D012307:Risk Factors; D013917:Thrombin / Q000378:metabolism; D013927:Thrombosis / Q000097:blood / Q000209:etiology
chemical_list: D015241:Fibrinogens, Abnormal; D011994:Recombinant Proteins; C527521:fibrinogen gamma'; D005176:Factor XIII; D013917:Thrombin