Comparative study of three recombinant hirudins with heparin in an experimental venous thrombosis model.

Three recombinant hirudins (r-hirudins) produced by genetic processes from Escherichia coli and yeast were studied. r-Hirudins could be an alternative treatment to heparin; so, the antithrombotic activity of these drugs should be compared to heparin, the reference substance, in an experimental venous thrombosis model. In this model, the effect of these r-hirudins on thrombus weight reduction were not identical. They varied depending on the original product (E. coli or yeast). The growth-inhibiting activity of r-hirudins on existing thrombi is not dose dependent, whereas that of heparin is. Moreover, in the conditions of this study, higher doses of heparin, but not of hirudins, increased the bleeding time. Although hirudin has limited applications for the time being, it seems an interesting anticoagulant drug, and the availability of r-hirudin opens new therapeutic anticoagulation perspectives.