Characterization of Cryofibrinogen Isolated from Patients Plasma
The oryofibrinogen (CF) of 27 patients (15 with cancer, 9 with septicemia and 3 with thrombosis) was studied, after appropriate washing, by SDS-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis and immunochemical methods. Analysis of the isolated CFS, as well as of the protein left after heat or thrombin defibrination, before and after reduction, in Polyacrylamide gels showed that CF is composed mainly of fibrin(ogen)(Ff) and cold-insoluble globulin (CIg). The Ff formed, in part, stabilized oligomers interlinked through γ-γ dimerizaticn. The degree of Ff proteolysis, as judged by measuring the a/γ+γ-γ ratio of the reduced samples was equal to or even lower than that of the fibrinogen of the initial plasma. The presence of Ff and CIg as the sole components of CF was confirmed by immunodiffusion experiments. The CIg:Ff molar ratio in the CF was 0.042.+0.018. The CIg and the Ff of the CF were strongly and linearly correlated with the plasma CIg levels (r=0.94 and 0.89 respectively). The amount of Ff depended also on the plasma fibrinogen levels, particularly when >500 mg/100ml.