Circulating intranuclear proteins may play a role in development of disseminated intravascular coagulation in individuals with acute leukemia

Intranuclear proteins, including high mobility group box 1 (HMGB1) and histone H3, released from inflammatory cells activate platelets and the coagulation systems, leading to development of disseminated intravascular coagulation (DIC) in individuals with sepsis. These observations prompted us to hypothesize that HMGB1 and histone H3 liberated from leukemia cells undergoing apoptosis after chemotherapy might play a role in development of DIC. To...