Blood Coagulation Favors Anti-inflammatory Whole Blood Immunoreactivity

We studied the effects of human blood coagulation on its antioxidant activity, as well as on the cellular secretion of immunoregulatory molecules in vitro. The coagulation process considerably decreased reactive oxygen species (ROS) activity induced by lipopolysaccharide (LPS) in blood samples. Human serum was found to have significantly greater antioxidant activity than plasma. Blood coagulation markedly reduced LPS-induced secretion of (TNF-α) by cells, without significantly affecting the secretion of interleukin-1 (IL-1), IL-6, IL-8 and C-reactive protein (CRP). Blood clotting led to an increase in the spontaneous release of IL-8 and both spontaneous and LPS-induced release of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) by blood cells. A significant increase in procalcitonin levels was also observed in serum samples from blood stimulated with LPS. Thus, blood clotting favors the anti-oxidant and anti-inflammatory functions of immunoreactive blood cells.