Immunologic Identification of Tissue Factor (Thromboplastin) Synthesized by Cultured Fibroblasts

Immunologic methods were employed in an attempt to identify a potent procoagulant present in homogenates of human skin fibroblasts cultured in vitro. The activity of this procoagulant was restricted to the early stages of coagulation and was heretofore considered to be due to tissue factor (tissue thromboplastin, factor III) either alone or in combination with one or more of the first-stage coagulation factors (VIII, IX, XI, XII). The present studies demonstrated that procoagulant activity was not diminished by incubation with anti-VIII or anti-IX antibodies of human origin or with anti-VIII antibody of rabbit origin. Furthermore, cell culture homogenates failed to bind antifactor VIII antibody and did not contain an inhibitor of the reaction between factor VIII and its antibody. By contrast, procoagulant activity was obliterated by an antibody to tissue factor protein regardless of whether plasmas deficient in factor VIII, IX, XI, or XII were used in the assay system. The antitissue factor antibody failed to block the procoagulant effect after tissue factor had complexed factor VII. The procoagulant, therefore, consisted entirely of tissue factor.