Abstract
BACKGROUND: Recent studies in severely injured patients suggest an important role of von Willebrand Factor (VWF) and ADAMTS13 in the endotheliopathy of trauma (EoT). We hypothesized that the early use of cryoprecipitate would be effective as an endothelial protector by supplementing physiologic VWF and ADAMTS13 to reverse the EoT. We tested a pathogen-reduced lyophilized cryoprecipitate (LPRC) that could expedite the early administration of cryoprecipitate in the battlefield. METHODS: A mouse multiple-trauma model with uncontrolled hemorrhage (UCH) from liver injury was utilized followed by hypotensive resuscitation (mean arterial pressure, 55-60) × 3 hours with lactated Ringer's (LR), fresh frozen plasma (FFP), conventional pathogen-reduced cryoprecipitate (CC), and LPRC. Blood was collected for measurement of syndecan-1, VWF, and ADAMTS13 by ELISA. Lungs were stained for histopathologic injury and syndecan-1 and bronchial alveolar lavage (BAL) fluid harvested for protein as an indicator of permeability. Statistical analysis was by ANOVA followed by Bonferroni correction. RESULTS: Following multiple trauma and UCH, blood loss was similar across groups. Mean volume of resuscitation was higher in the LR group compared with the other resuscitation groups. Lung histopathologic injury, syndecan-1 immunostaining and BAL protein were higher with LR compared with resuscitation with FFP and CC, while LPRC further reduced BAL compared with FFP and CC. The ADAMTS13/VWF ratio was significantly lower in LR but improved with FFP and CC, comparable to shams while LPRC further increased this ratio. CONCLUSION: The protective effects of CC and LPRC were comparable to FFP in ameliorating the EoT in our murine multiple trauma and UCH model. Lyophilized cryoprecipitate may also provide additional benefit by enhancing the ADAMTS13/VWF ratio. These data provide evidence of the safety and efficacy of LPRC and warrants further investigation for its potential application in military settings once approved for human administration.