Tissue coagulating system and fibrinolytic activities in brain tumors (author's transl)

Abstract

The relation between tissue coagulating, fibrinolytic system and cyst-formation of brain tumors was studied. Twenty-nine cases of brain tumor, which contained 1 1 cases with cystic tumor and 18 cases with solid tumor, were examined. Four pieces of normal brain which were obtained by operation were examined as control. The levels of fibrinolytic activities of contents of cystic tumors were measured by plasmin activity, SK-activated plasmin activity using fibrin plate (Kowa Co., Japan) and FDP values using FDP Kit (Wellcome, England). Plasmin activity was found in 7 cases of cystic tumor. SK-activated plasmin activity was also found in 9 cases of cystic brain tumor. The FDP values measured in 7 cases of cystic tumor were 40-800 ug/ml. In only 2 cases with cystic brain tumors, the activities of plasmin and SK-activated plasmin were not found. In one of these FDP value was 160 ug/ml. Thus, cystic content of most cystic brain tumor had fibrinolytic activities. The levels of tissue thromboplastin of 29 cases of brain tumor were measured by a modified Astrup's method. Coagulation time of normal brain tissues was 14.8 sec. (thromboplastin content in 100 mg. tissues: 100%), that of tumor tissues with cyst was 12.5 sec. (215%), and that of tumor tissues without cyst was 19.3 sec. (29.9%). Hence, the levels of tissue thromboplastin of cystic brain tumors were higher than those in normal brain tissues and the levels of solid brain tumors were much lower than those of normal ones. The tissue local fibrinolytic activities were measured by Permis' method, using fibrin plate, and the levels of tissue plasminogen activator were measured by a modified Astrup's method. Trypsin solution was used as control and fibrinolytic activity of normal brain tissues were 0.80±1.78 TU, those of cystic brain tumor tissues were 4.35±3.25 TU, and those of solid brain tumor tissues were 0.14±0.64 TU. These results showed that the levels of tissue fibrinolytic activity of cystic brain tumor were much higher than those of normal brains and brain tumors without cysts (p<0.05, p<0.01). However, the levels of plasminogen activator of the tissues of cystic brain tumor were almost the same compared with normal brains. The levels of tissue plasminogen activator of solid brain tumor were much lower than those of normal brains and of cystic brain tumors (p<0.01). Both local coagulating system and fibrinolytic system of brain tumor tissues might be concerned with the cyst formation of the tumor.