1-8 days after setup at PeaceHealth Laboratories’ reference lab
CPT Code:
85415-90
Specimen Collection Details
Collection:
One 4.5 mL light blue top tube (sodium citrate).
Handling:
Centrifuge at 1700 x g for 15 minutes to produce platelet-poor plasma. Separate plasma from cells and immediately freeze.
Stability:
4 hours ambient, 4 hours refrigerated, or 2 months frozen.
Standard Volume:
1 mL plasma
Minimum Volume:
0.5 mL plasma
Transport:
Frozen on dry ice.
Comments:
Tissue plasminogen activator (t-PA) plays an important role in the fibrinolytic pathway. The primary function of t-PA is to activate plasminogen to plasmin, which then degrades fibrin to soluble degradation products. There are two forms of t-PA, a single chain and the two-chain form; both forms can activate plasminogen. t-PA is synthesized mainly in the endothelial cells. Typically, t-PA is found in very small amounts. The assessment of t-PA is further complicated by PAI-1 rapidly binding to t-PA, inhibiting its functional activity; thus, to determine active t-PA, acidification of the patient’s plasma is necessary. Excessive t-PA release can lead to excessive activation of fibrinolysis, causing bleeding episodes in patients. Decreased release of t-PA can lead to reduced activation of fibrinolysis, causing thrombosis. The intended use of this ELISA assay is to give a quantitative determination of t-PA in plasma. This assay may be helpful in detecting disorders of the fibrinolytic system.
Rejection Criteria:
Serum; hemolysis; plasma from sodium fluoride or heparin tubes.