Comparison of hepatic coagulant, fibrinolytic, and anticoagulant functions between Banna Minipig Inbred line and humans.

BACKGROUND: As an ideal candidate for xenotransplantation, the compatibility of physiological porcine organs with those of humans is an essential premise. In this study, we analyzed hepatic coagulant, fibrinolytic, and anticoagulant functions between Banna Minipig Inbreds (BMIs) and humans to evaluate such hepatic compatibility.
METHODS: BMI factors II, V, VII, X, and XII were added to the corresponding factor-deficient human plasma to determine prothrombin times (PT) and activated partial thromboplastin times (APTT). Human tissue plasminogen activator (t-PA) was added to both BMI and human plasma to determine plasmin activity. The antithrombin-III (AT-III) activity of plasma was analyzed with the STA-Stago autoanalyzer using an AT-III assay kit.
RESULTS: Both PT and APTT were reduced but within normal parameters when BMI factors II, V, VII, X, and XII were added to the corresponding factor-deficient human plasma. The activities of BMI coagulation factors II, V, VII, X, and XII were 3.2, 3.7, 4.7, 2.9, and 4.5 times those of humans, respectively. The activity of plasmin was significantly higher in BMI plasma than in humans when human t-PA was added to both. The normal range of human AT-III activity was 90-108% while BMI AT-III was 124.50 +/- 2.38%.
CONCLUSIONS: The activities of coagulation factors and AT-III were higher in BMIs than in humans. BMI coagulation factors XII, VII, and X trigger human intrinsic, extrinsic, and common pathways, respectively, which functioned normally. In addition, BMI plasminogen could be activated by human t-PA.