Abstract
We investigated the effects of double-membrane filtration with hollow-fiber membranes made of different artificial materials and the low-density lipoprotein (LDL)-adsorbant dextran sulfate cellulose column on coagulation-related proteins and complement components in order to evaluate the hemocompatibility of these instruments. All the membrane filters showed a similar seiving effect which depended on the molecular weight of proteins. In the double membrane filtration system, free protein S, protein C, antithrombin III and α1-antitrypsin were returned to intracorporeal circulation though α2-macroglobulin and fibrinogen were almost completely removed from the circulation. C4b-binding protein (C4BP)-protein S complex was trapped by the second membrane. It was even trapped by the first membrane, which was made of materials that activate the classical pathway of the complement system. The dextran sulfate column adsorbed C4BP-protein S complex, but free protein S was recovered in the eluate.
