fibrinopeptide-a and Constriction--Pathologic

Atherosclerotic plaque rupture may trigger the formation of mural thrombus. This thrombus formation is apparently affected by very high and complex shear conditions introduced by the luminal narrowing (stenosis) of the atheroma. To study the impact of such blood flow behaviour on thrombus formation we employed a model system where collagen-induced thrombogenesis is studied at the apex of well-defined eccentric stenoses. Thrombus formation in non-anticoagulated human blood drawn directly from an antecubital vein over the collagen coated stenosis apex for periods of 0.5, 1, 3 or 5 min was quantified by morphometry. The stenoses reduced the cross-sectional area of the blood flow channel by 60, 80 and 89%, which corresponded to apex wall shear rates of 2600, 10,500 and 32,000 s-1, respectively. Platelet-collagen adhesion decreased by increasing shear at the stenosis apex. The corresponding adhesion rates were highest at 1 min, then they gradually decreased upon prolongation of the perfusion time. The platelet thrombus volume increased in concert with increasing shear rate up to 10,500 s-1, whereas, at 32,000 s-1, the volume wa decreased. The corresponding growth rates and rates of thrombus occlusion at the apex levelled off at 3 min. Significant fibrin deposition was not observed before 3 min, and was most pronounced at 10,500 and 32,000 s-1. The plasma levels of fibrinopeptide A and beta-thromboglobulin increased in concert with increasing shear and perfusion time, particularly at the two highest shear conditions. Thus, hallmarks of thrombus formation at these stenoses with increasing shear are decreased platelet-collagen adhesion, and increased platelet-platelet interaction and fibrin deposition. A fibrin tail downstream to the collagen-attached platelet thrombus is regularly observed when thrombus occlusion exceeds 40%. However, the reduced thrombus growth at the most occlusive stenosis (89%) is presumably due to the high shear stresses which may reduce the rate of platelet incorporation into the thrombus and/or tear off thrombus fragments.

Topics: Analysis of Variance; Arteriosclerosis; beta-Thromboglobulin; Case-Control Studies; Collagen; Constriction, Pathologic; Fibrin; Fibrinopeptide A; Humans; Kinetics; Platelet Adhesiveness; Regional Blood Flow; Stress, Mechanical; Thrombosis

Cigarette smoking is a known risk factor for cardiovascular disease in men and women, and it has been suggested that this risk is linked to enhanced formation of platelet thromboxane A2 (TxA2). This led us to investigate the effect of cigarette smoking and TxA2 formation on collagen-induced thrombogenesis in flowing nonanticoagulated human blood. Thrombus formation in blood from smokers and nonsmokers was compared before and 2 hours after ingestion of a single oral dose of 990 mg aspirin, which is sufficient to block platelet TxA2 formation. Nonanticogulated blood was drawn directly from an antecubital vein over collagen fibrils in a parallel-plate perfusion chamber by a peristaltic roller pump placed distally to the chamber. Wall shear rates at the collagen surface were characteristic for medium-sized (650 s-1) and moderately stenosed (2600 s-1) arteries. Blood-collagen interactions were morphologically quantified, and markers of platelet release, beta-thromboglobulin (beta-TG), and activation of coagulation, fibrinopeptide A (FPA), were measured immediately distal to the perfusion chamber. The thrombus volume in blood from cigarette-smoking individuals was nearly twofold larger than in blood from nonsmokers at 2600 s-1 (37.4 and 19.4 microns 3/microns 2; P < .03). However, ingestion of aspirin reduced the thrombus volume in blood from smokers by 61.8% (P < .01), which was substantially more than the 37.6% reduction in blood from nonsmokers (P < .03). Neither cigarette smoking nor aspirin ingestion affected thrombus formation at 650 s-1. The plasma levels of FPA and beta-TG were slightly lower in nonsmokers and after aspirin ingestion.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Topics: Adult; Arteries; Aspirin; beta-Thromboglobulin; Blood Platelets; Cell Adhesion; Collagen; Constriction, Pathologic; Female; Fibrin; Fibrinopeptide A; Hematocrit; Humans; Male; Middle Aged; Platelet Count; Smoking; Thrombosis