Thrombin inhibitors suppress the thrombin-thrombomodulin-mediated generation of activated protein C

In the treatment of unstable coronary artery disease, direct thrombin inhibitors have shown no or only limited benefit as compared with heparin, despite theoretical advantages. One explanation may be that the direct thrombin inhibitors to a greater extent than heparin have an inhibiting effect on the generation and activity of activated protein C. In the present study, this hypothesis was tested in an in vitro, "purified" system, where human protein C underwent activation to activated protein C by the thrombin-thrombomodulin complex. Direct thrombin inhibitors, inogatran and hirudin, unfractionated heparin+antithrombin, or dalteparin+antithrombin, were added to the system before activation to evaluate their inhibitory effect on the generation of activated protein C. At inhibitor concentrations well below the achieved plasma levels in major clinical trials, the thrombin-thrombomodulin-mediated activation of protein C was inhibited by all the studied inhibitors in a dose-dependent manner, but, contrary to our hypothesis, to a greater extent by unfractionated heparin+antithrombin and dalteparin+antithrombin than by the direct thrombin inhibitors, hirudin and inogatran. Despite difficulties to draw conclusions for the in vivo situation, the in vitro inhibition, by all studied inhibitors, of the generation of activated protein C, found in this study may be a possible explanation for ongoing cardiovascular events despite adequate treatment with thrombin inhibitors, in patients with unstable coronary artery disease. This inhibition of the generation of activated protein C may also contribute to the rebound in cardiovascular events after withdrawal of effective antithrombotic treatment. (C) 1999 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.