Blood coagulation is a highly regulated process involving interactions between platelets, plasma coagulation factors, and the vessel wall. During coagulation in vivo, fibrin formation is thought to be initiated when plasma factor VIIa forms a complex with the membrane protein tissue factor. Coagulation factor XII (FXII, Hageman factor) is required for some in vitro coagulation systems; however, FXII deficiency is not associated with hemorrhage, leading to the conclusion that it is not necessary for hemostasis. We generated FXII-deficient mice to study the contributions of FXII to thrombosis and hemostasis in arterial injury models and in models of acute arterial occlusion. FXII-deficient mice do not experience excessive injury-related bleeding; however, intravital fluorescence microscopy and blood flow measurements in three separate arterial beds revealed a severe defect in formation and stabilization of platelet-rich occlusive thrombi induced by different methods of injuries. Similar findings were observed for mice deficient in factor XI, a substrate of activated FXII. Infusion of human FXII into FXII null mice restored thrombus formation. These findings demonstrate that FXII-mediated fibrin formation is crucial for pathological arterial thrombosis but not for hemostasis and suggest that FXII could be an ideal target for safe anticoagulation.
