PROTEIN S DEFICIENCY

Course overview

PROTEIN S DEFICIENCY IS A RARE DISORDER CHARACTERIZED BY REDUCED ACTIVITY OF PROTEIN S, A PLASMA SERINE PROTEASE WITH COMPLEX ROLES IN COAGULATION, INFLAMMATION, AND APOPTOSIS. PROTEIN S IS AN ANTICOAGULANT PROTEIN DISCOVERED IN SEATTLE, WA, IN 1979 AND WAS NAMED AFTER THAT CITY. PROTEIN S FACILITATES THE ACTION OF ACTIVATED PROTEIN C (APC) ON ACTIVATED FACTOR 5 (F5A) AND ACTIVATED FACTOR 8 (F8A). A DEFICIENCY IN PROTEIN S CHARACTERISTICALLY DEMONSTRATES THE INABILITY TO CONTROL COAGULATION, RESULTING IN THE EXCESSIVE FORMATION OF BLOOD CLOTS (THROMBOPHILIA) AND VENOUS THROMBOEMBOLISM (VTE). THIS ACTIVITY REVIEWS THE PRESENTATION, EVALUATION, AND MANAGEMENT OF PROTEIN S DEFICIENCY AND HIGHLIGHTS THE ROLE OF THE INTERPROFESSIONAL TEAM IN MANAGING PATIENTS WITH THIS CONDITION.