APC-PCI ELISA Kit
Cat.No. KIT 040
96 wells
4 hours
Quantitative
For Research Use Only. Not for use in diagnostic procedures.
The APC-PCI ELISA Kit measures the Activated Protein C – Protein C Inhibitor complex in human plasma.
The APC-PCI complex is formed in blood circulation upon activation of protein C (PC) and is therefore a marker of PC activation. PC is synthesized in the liver and is activated by thrombin. Activated protein C (APC) splits several blood coagulation factors limiting blood coagulation, and thereby working as an anticoagulant. It is also thought to play an anti-inflammatory role. When APC is produced within the circulation, it undergoes inactivation by reacting with several protease inhibitors, including Protein C inhibitor (PCI) which appears to be of the greatest physiological importance. The inhibition complex is known as the APC-PCI complex.
APC-PCI - A potential marker for evaluating sepsis patients for APC treatment
Sepsis is a devastating disorder characterized by systemic activation of the inflammatory and coagulation cascades in response to microbial infection. Apart from antimicrobial therapy, the infusion of human recombinant APC (Xigris®, Eli Lilly) is the only treatment documented to reduce the mortality of sepsis patients. Much effort is being invested into finding a way of predicting which sepsis patients are most likely to benefit from this treatment. The effect of Xigris® has been modest (1) so far, largely due to the fact that qualifying the right patients for this drug has been a challenge. Now, a study of APC-PCI levels in sepsis patients conducted by BioPorto Diagnostics, suggests that measuring APC-PCI levels may find a role in predicting outcome and guiding treatment with APC (2).
APC-PCI in coagulation
APC-PCI levels are elevated in several thrombotic conditions, and measuring APC-PCI levels may be relevant in several conditions such as deep vein thrombosis, myocardial infarctions and aortic aneurysms (3, 4, 5).
Kit features
- Highly reproducible and easy to use
- Precoated microwell strips that can be used as strips of 8 or as individual wells
- All incubations performed at room temperature
- All components are stored at 2-8ºC
- Only standard ELISA equipment is required
- Bernard GR, Vincent JL, Laterre PF, LaRosa SP, Dhainaut JF, Lopez-Rodriguez A, Steingrub JS, Garber GE, Helterbrand JD, Ely EW, Fisher CJ Jr (2001) Efficacy and safety of recombinant human activated protein C for severe sepsis. N Engl J Med 344:699-709.
- Heslet L, Hald R, Recke C, Bangert K, Uttenthal LO (2008) Activated protein C-protein C inhibitor (APC-PCI) complex as a prognostic marker in sepsis. Presented at The International Sepsis Forum (ISF) 2008, Granada, Spain.
- Strandberg K, Astermark J, Björgell O, Becker C, NilssonPE, Stenflo J (2001) Complexes between activated protein C and protein C inhibitor measured with a new method: comparison of performance with other markers of hypercoagulability in the diagnosis of deep vein thrombosis. Thromb Haemost 86:1400-08.
- Bhiladvala P, Strandberg K, Stenflo J, Holm J (2006) Early identification of acute myocardial infarction by activated protein C-protein C inhibitor complex. Thromb Res 118:213-19.
- Kölbel T, Strandberg K, Mattiasson I, Stenflo J, Lindblad B (2006) Activated protein C-protein C inhibitor complex: a new biological marker for aortic aneurysms. J Vasc Surg 43:935-39.

