Diurnal variation of the fibrinolytic system

Abstract

To elucidate which component(s) of the fibrinolytic system is (are) responsible for the diurnal variation of fibrinolytic activity we have studied several parameters of this system in 8 healthy male volunteers during a period of 24 h. Blood was collected at 8 a.m., 10 a.m., 12 a.m., 4 p.m., 8 p.m. and 8 a.m. nex morning. The following tests were performed: euglobulin clot lysis time (ECLT), fibrinolytic activity of euglobulins on fibrin plates in the presence and absence of blocking antibodies to tissue-type plasminogen activator (t-PA) and/or urokinase (u-PA), overall plasminogen activator inhibitor (PAI) activity, antigen levels of t-PA, u-PA, and PAI-1 and zymography of the euglobulin fraction after SDS-PAGE. From 8-10 a.m. to 4-8 p.m., total fibrinolytic activity increased by 113% (p<0.01) or 71% (p<0.01) when measured by ECLT or by fibrin plate assay, respectively. The immunoquenching experiments showed that this increase was entirely due to t-PA related activity whereas u-PA activity and t-PA/u-PA independent activity remained constant during the day. Average antigen levels of u-PA and t-PA in the afternoon were 6% and 25% lower than those measured in the morning. During this period, overall PAI activity and PAI-1 antigen decreased by 31% (p<0.01) and 52% (p<0.01) respectively. Electrophoretic-zymographic analysis of the euglobulins revealed that throughout the day the majority of t-PA was present in the form of the 110 kDa t-PA/PAI-1 complex. The intensity of this complex was lowest in the afternoon. Free t-PA was almost undetectable in morning samples, but constituted a significant proportion of total t-PA in the afternoon. The diurnal increase of fibrinolytic activity, therefore, is not due an augmentation of antigen levels of t-PA and/or u-PA but to a decline of those of PAI-1.