The main role of the tissue factor pathway is to generate a “thrombin burst”, a process by which thrombin, the most important constituent of the coagulation cascade in terms of its feedback activation roles, is released very rapidly. FVIIa circulates in a higher amount than any other activated coagulation factor. The process includes the following steps:
- Following damage to the blood vessel, FVII leaves the circulation and comes into contact with tissue factor (TF) expressed on tissue-factor-bearing cells (stromal fibroblasts and leukocytes), forming an activated complex (TF-FVIIa).
- TF-FVIIa activates FIX and FX.
- FVII is itself activated by thrombin, FXIa, FXII and FXa.
- The activation of FX (to form FXa) by TF-FVIIa is almost immediately inhibited by tissue factor pathway inhibitor (TFPI).
- FXa and its co-factor FVa form the prothrombinase complex, which activates prothrombin to thrombin.
- Thrombin then activates other components of the coagulation cascade, including FV and FVIII (which activates FXI, which, in turn, activates FIX), and activates and releases FVIII from being bound to vWF.
- FVIIIa is the co-factor of FIXa, and together they form the “tenase” complex, which activates FX; and so the cycle continues. (“Tenase” is a contraction of “ten” and the suffix “-ase” used for enzymes.)