Bivalirudin Bivalirudin Bivalirudin (Angiomax or Angiox, manufactured by The Medicines Company) is a direct thrombin inhibitor (DTI). Chemically, it is a synthetic congener of the naturally occurring drug hirudin (found in the saliva of the medicinal leech "Hirudo medicinalis"). Bivalirudin is a DTI that overcomes many limitations seen with indirect thrombin inhibitors, such as heparin. Bivalirudin is a short, synthetic peptide. It is a potent and highly specific inhibitor of thrombin. It inhibits both circulating and clot-bound thrombin, while also inhibiting thrombin-mediated platelet activation and aggregation. Bivalirudin has a quick onset of action and a short half-life. It does not bind
DNA damage (naturally occurring) or via environmental factors. The DNA damage response (DDR) is a complex signal transduction pathway which recognizes when DNA is damaged and initiates the cellular response to the damage. Damage to DNA that occurs naturally can result from metabolic or hydrolytic processes. Metabolism releases compounds that damage DNA including reactive oxygen species, reactive nitrogen species, reactive carbonyl species, lipid peroxidation products and alkylating agents, among others, while hydrolysis cleaves chemical bonds in DNA. Naturally occurring oxidative DNA damages arise at least 10,000 times per cell per day in humans and 50,000 times or more per cell per day in rats,