The amebocytes of horseshoe crab (Limulus) hemolymph contain a coagulation system highly sensitive to bacterial endotoxins. Limulus amebocyte lysate (LAL) reactive material derived from cuproammonium rayon membranes, however, is not an endotoxin and acts upon the alternative pathway in the coagulation cascade found in Limulus amebocyte lysate. This study confirmed these facts by using the coagulation system of Limulus without factor G, which is a substrate of the alternative pathway. LAL reactive material lingered in the circulation for a relatively long time. In acute hemodialysis, its plasma concentration increased by an average of 100 pg/ml with each dialysis and eventually reached a plateau of approximately 300 pg/ml. In patients with chronic renal failure under regular hemodialysis, the mean level of LAL reactive material was 330.0 +/- 8.0 pg/ml before hemodialysis which increased by 70.6 +/- 20.7 pg/ml after four hours of hemodialysis.

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