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Ecarin
Ecarin is an enzyme that is derived from the venom of the Indian saw-scaled viper, ''Echis carinatus'', It is the primary reagent in the Ecarin clotting time Ecarin clotting time (ECT) is a laboratory test used to monitor anticoagulation during treatment with hirudin, an anticoagulant medication which was originally isolated from leech saliva. Ecarin, the primary reagent in this assay, is derived from ... test. The venom of the saw-scaled viper, Echis carinatus, causes bleeding and eventually death. The venom contains a metalloprotease called ecarin that converts prothrombin to meizothrombin, a thrombin analog with increased esterase activity, and not to normal thrombin. Ecarin is a glycoprotein with unique metalloproteinase properties. It has a molecular weight of 56,000 and has been found to specifically activate only prothrombin due to its strict substrate specificity. To better understand the structure-function relationships of Ecarin, researchers need to know its primary st ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ecarin Clotting Time
Ecarin clotting time (ECT) is a laboratory test used to monitor anticoagulation during treatment with hirudin, an anticoagulant medication which was originally isolated from leech saliva. Ecarin, the primary reagent in this assay, is derived from the venom of the saw-scaled viper, ''Echis carinatus''. In the clinical assay, a known quantity of ecarin is added to the plasma of a patient treated with hirudin. Ecarin activates prothrombin through a specific proteolytic cleavage, which produces meizothrombin, a prothrombin-thrombin intermediate which retains the full molecular weight of prothrombin, but possesses a low level of procoagulant enzymatic activity. Crucially, this activity is inhibited by hirudin and other direct thrombin inhibitors, but not by heparin. The ECT is also unaffected by prior treatment with warfarin or the presence of phospholipid-dependent anticoagulants, such as lupus anticoagulant Lupus anticoagulant is an immunoglobulin that binds to phospholipids and pro ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Echis Carinatus
''Echis carinatus'', known as the saw-scaled viper,Mallow D, Ludwig D, Nilson G (2003). ''True Vipers: Natural History and Toxinology of Old World Vipers''. Malabar, Florida: Krieger Publishing Company. 359 pp. . Indian saw-scaled viper, little Indian viper, a Munich Antivenom Index Accessed 13 September 2006. and by other , is a found in parts of ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
