Mercuric ion stimulates procoagulant activity in conjunction with APTT

Mercuric ion (Hg²⁺) has been found to increase coagulant activity in whole blood. We conducted an in vitro study to determine whether mercuric chloride (HgCl₂) has an effect on blood coagulation when added to whole blood solutions containing either PT or APTT reagent. We used 10 mul of 10% PT reagent and 10 mul of 10% APTT reagent and added them to separate solutions of 990 mul of human citrated whole blood (CWB). Mercuric chloride was added to each reagent sample and compared to the samples containing only reagent. The incubation period was 5 minutes at 37degC. The blood clotting time was measured in seconds using a Sonoclot Coagulation Analyzer. PT and HgCl₂ resulted in no change in clotting time when compared to that of just PT. APTT, in combination with HgCl₂, resulted in a significant reduction in clotting time when compared to that of just APTT (p<0.01). The data in this study suggests that HgCI₂ and APTT concurrently stimulate coagulation.