The stressed vascular barrier and coagulation - The impact of key glycocalyx components on in vitro clot formation.

Introduction: A functional vascular barrier controlling leukocyte recruitment into the perivascular space relies on an intact endothelial glycocalyx (EGX). Critical disease states such as sepsis or trauma can induce massive shedding of EGX components into the blood stream. Previous studies have shown that high blood levels of EGX components are correlated with bleeding in patients.