Induction of disseminated intravascular coagulation by endotoxin and saline loading in rats II. Fibrin deposition and removal

Abstract

Disseminated intravascular coagulation was induced in rats by injection of endotoxin and subsequent infusion of a large volume of isotonic saline. Fibrin deposition and fibrin removal in kidneys, lungs, liver, and spleen during this period were studied by the use of 131-I-fibrinogen. It was found that the radioactivity was deposited and lysed following a distinct time-dependent pattern in the organs studied. An early deposition and early removal in kidneys and lungs, and a later peak and more delayed fall of activity in spleen and liver were observed. The activity in kidneys and lungs was attributed to fibrin thrombi, while that in spleen and liver probably was due to true fibrin deposition as well as to reticulo-endothelial phagocytosis of fibrinogen/fibrin degradation products. This pattern was not only observed when the 131-I-fibrinogen was injected before triggering DIC with endotoxin, but also when it was injected at the time of maximum glomerular fibrin deposition. It therefore appears that in DIC fibrin deposition and removal may be overlapping to a much greater degree than assumed before. Neither the coagulation potential nor the fibrinolytic system nor the reticulo-endothelial clearance may be entirely exhausted even in the most severe cases of DIC in rats.