Iron modulates the alpha chain of fibrinogen

Iron-bound fibrinogen has been noted to accelerate plasmatic coagulation in patients with divergent conditions involving upregulation of heme oxygenase activity, including hemodialysis, Alzheimer’s disease, sickle cell anemia, and chronic migraine. Our goal was to determine if a site of iron-fibrinogen interaction was on the alpha chain. Using thrombelastography, we compared the coagulation kinetic profiles of plasma exposed to 0–10 µM ferric chloride after activation of coagulation with thrombin generated by contact activation of plasma with the plastic sample cup or by exposure to 1 µg/ml of Calloselasma rhodostoma venom (rich in ancrod activity), which causes coagulation via polymerization of alpha chain monomers. Venom mediated coagulation always occurred before thrombin activated thrombus formation, and ferric chloride always diminished the time of onset of coagulation and increased the velocity of clot growth. Iron enhances plasmatic coagulation kinetics by modulating the alpha chain of fibrinogen.