Tracking Fibrinolysis of Chandler Loop-Formed Whole Blood Clots Under Shear Flow in An In-Vitro Thrombolysis Model

Summary

In-vitro thrombolysis assays have often struggled to replicate in-vivo conditions whether in the model thrombus being digested or in the environment in which thrombolysis is occurring. Herein, we explore how coupling the Chandler loop and Real-Time Fluorometric Flowing Fibrinolysis Assay (RT-FluFF) is used for high-fidelity, ex-vivo, clot lysis monitoring.

Abstract

Thromboembolism and related complications are a leading cause of morbidity and mortality worldwide and various assays have been developed to test thrombolytic drug efficiency both in vitro and in vivo. There is increasing demand for more physiologically relevant in-vitro clot models for drug development due to the complexity and cost associated with animal models in addition to their often lack of translatability to human physiology. Flow, pressure, and shear rate are important characteristics of the circulatory system, with clots that are formed under flow displaying different morphology and digestion characteristics than statically formed clots. These factors are often unrepresented in conventional in-vitro clot digestion assays, which can have pharmacological implications that impact drug translational success rates.

The Real-Time Fluorometric Flowing Fibrinolysis (RT-FluFF) assay was developed as a high-fidelity thrombolysis testing platform that uses fluorescently tagged clots formed under shear flow, which are then digested using circulating plasma in the presence or absence of fibrinolytic pharmaceutical agents. Modifying the flow rates of both clot formation and clot digestion steps allows the system to imitate arterial, pulmonary, and venous conditions across highly diverse experimental setups. Measurements can be taken continuously using an in-line fluorometer or by taking discrete time points, as well as a conventional end point clot mass measurement. The RT-FluFF assay is a flexible system that allows for the real-time tracking of clot digestion under flow conditions that more accurately represent in-vivo physiological conditions while retaining the control and reproducibility of an in-vitro testing system.

Introduction

Diseases fundamentally stemming from thrombo-embolic etiologies present a major source of morbidity and mortality in present-day society. Manifestations of thrombo-embolic pathogenesis include, but are not limited to, myocardial infarctions, ischemic strokes, deep venous thromboses, and pulmonary emboli¹. A tremendous amount of ongoing research, spanning multiple disciplines, revolves around the development of safe and effective methods for dealing with pathogenic thrombosis. Variations in arterial and venous manifestations of thrombosis and varying anatomic locations have resulted in the development of different treatment approaches. However, ....

Protocol

All methods mentioned below are in accordance with institutional review board (IRB) protocols and the institutional human research ethics committee. All healthy volunteers provided written and informed consent prior to blood donation. Of note, all materials referenced within the protocol can be found in the Table of Materials. While human WB and plasma are discussed throughout this protocol, the use of research animal blood and factor-depleted blood products can be purchased and substituted.

Discussion

Clot formation and labeling
The Chandler loop has been demonstrated to provide an easy and effective means of reproducibly generating clots that mimic in-vivo thrombi¹⁶. Fine-tuning parameters such as tubing size, rotational speeds, drum diameter, and clotting time allow for the rapid generation of clots under differing shear conditions that can capture architectural features appreciated in a range of thrombi mimicking both arterial and venous sources. The additiona.......

Materials

Name	Company	Catalog Number	Comments
30 G Disposable Hypodermic Needles	Exel International	26439	Other Consumables
6 mm HSS Lathe Bar Stock Tool 150 mm Long	uxcell	B07SXGSQ82	Chandler loop,
96-Well Clear Flat Bottom UV-Transparent Microplate	Corning	3635	Other Consumables, Non-treated acrylic copolymer, non-sterile
Air-Tite Luer-lock Unsterile 60 mL Syringes	Air-Tite	MLB3	RT-FluFF Apparatus , dampeners
Arium Mini Plus Ultrapure Water System	Sartorius	NA	DI water source
Calcium Chloride	Millipore Sigma	C5670	Other Consumables
Disposable BP Transducers	AD Instruments	MLT0670	RT-FluFF Apparatus
Drager Siemans HemoMed Pod	Drager	5588822	RT-FluFF Apparatus
Drager Siemans Patient Monitor	Drager	SC 7000	RT-FluFF Apparatus
Drum (cylinder, diameter 120 mm, width 85 mm)			Chandler loop,
Face Shield	Moxe	SHIELDS10	Chandler loop,
Fibrinogen From Human Plasma, Alexa Fluor 488 Conjugate	Thermo Scientific	F13191	Other Consumables
Fitting, Polycarbonate, Four-Way Stopcock, Male Luer Lock, Non-Sterile	Masterflex	30600-04	RT-FluFF Apparatus
Fluorescein (FITC)	Thermo Scientific	119245000	Other Consumables
General-Purpose Water Bath	Thermo Scientific	2839	Chandler loop,
Hotplate 4 × 4	Fisher Scientific	1152016H	RT-FluFF Apparatus
Human Source Plasma Fresh-Frozen	Zen-Bio	SER-SPL	Other Consumables, CPDA-1 anticoagulant
Human Whole Blood	Zen-Bio	SER-WB-SDS	Other Consumables, CPDA-1 anticoagulant
L/S Easy-Load II Pump Head for High-Performance Precision Tubing, PPS Housing, SS Rotor	Masterflex	77200-62	RT-FluFF Apparatus, Pump Head
L/S Variable-Speed Digital Drive Pump with Remote I/O, 6 to 600 rpm; 90 to 260 VAC	Masterflex	7528-10	RT-FluFF Apparatus, Pump
Motor Speed Controller	CoCocina	ZK-MG	Chandler loop,
Nalgene Tubing T-Type Connectors	Thermo Scientific	6151-0312	RT-FluFF Apparatus
Peristaltic pump tubing	Masterflex	06424-15	Other Consumables
Phosphate buffered saline	Millipore Sigma	P3813	Other Consumables, Powder, pH 7.4, for preparing 1 L solutions
SpectraMax M5 multi-detection microplate reader system (or other fluorescence detection)	Molecular Devices	M5	RT-FluFF Apparatus
Switching Power Supply	SoulBay	UC03U	Chandler loop,
Thermo Scientific National Target All-Plastic Disposable Syringes 10 mL	Thermo Scientific	S751010	Other Consumables
Tissue plasminogen activator, human	Millipore Sigma	T0831	Other Consumables
Tubing ID 1/4'', OD 3/8''	Fisher Scientific	AGL00017	Other Consumables, cut into 1.5cm sections use to connect tubing to T-type connectors
Tubing ID 5/32", OD 7/32"	Tygon	ND-100-65, ADF 00009	Other Consumables
V3 365 nm Mini - Black Light UV Flashlight	uvBeast	uvB-V3-365-MINI	Chandler loop, used to check completed clots
ZGA37RG ZYTD520 DC Motor, 12 V, 100 rpm	Pangyoo	ZGA37RG	Chandler loop,