Abstract
OBJECTIVE: Recent evidence suggests involvement of coagulation factor XIa (FXIa) in thrombotic event development. This study was conducted to explore possible synergies between tissue factor (TF) and exogenous FXIa (E-FXIa) in thrombin generation. APPROACH AND RESULTS: In thrombin generation assays, for increasing concentrations of E-FXIa with low, but not with high TF concentrations, peak thrombin significantly increased whereas lag time and time to peak significantly decreased. Similar dependencies of lag times and rates of thrombin generation were found in mathematical model simulations. In both in vitro and in silico experiments that included E-FXIa, thrombin bursts were seen for TF levels much lower than those required without E-FXIa. For in silico thrombin bursts initiated by the synergistic action of TF and E-FXIa, the mechanisms leading to the burst differed substantially from those for bursts initiated by high TF alone. For the synergistic case, sustained activation of platelet-bound FIX by E-FXIa, along with the feedback-enhanced activation of platelet-bound FVIIIa and FXa, was needed to elicit a thrombin burst. Furthermore, the initiation of thrombin bursts by high TF levels relied on different platelet FIX/FIXa binding sites than those involved in bursts initiated by low TF levels with E-FXIa. CONCLUSIONS: Low concentrations of TF and exogenous FXIa, each too low to elicit a burst in thrombin production alone, act synergistically when in combination to cause substantial thrombin production. The observation about FIX/FIXa binding sites may have therapeutic implications.