Functional enhancement of platelet activation and aggregation by erythrocytes: role of red cells in thrombosis
- Published
- Accepted
- Subject Areas
- Anatomy and Physiology, Cardiology, Hematology
- Keywords
- Platelets, Erythrocytes, Aggregation, Coagulation
- Copyright
- © 2014 Brown et al.
- Licence
- This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, reproduction and adaptation in any medium and for any purpose provided that it is properly attributed. For attribution, the original author(s), title, publication source (PeerJ PrePrints) and either DOI or URL of the article must be cited.
- Cite this article
- 2014. Functional enhancement of platelet activation and aggregation by erythrocytes: role of red cells in thrombosis. PeerJ PrePrints 2:e351v1 https://doi.org/10.7287/peerj.preprints.351v1
Abstract
Platelets expose phosphatidylserine (PS), a component of the prothrombinase complex, on the outer surface of the plasma membrane when activated. [ref 1] The prothrombinase complex catalyzes the conversion of prothrombin to thrombin, and it has been demonstrated that an increase in PS exposure is correlated with an increase in thrombin generation by platelets. [refs 2,3] Similarly, erythrocyte (RBC) activation, or eryptosis, is also characterized by PS exposure on the plasma membrane. [ref 4] Although PS exposure on RBCs is considered a signal for splenic macrophage destruction, eryptosis may allow RBCs to contribute to thrombosis.[ref 4] The aims of this study were to determine whether the addition of RBCs to platelets increased functional platelet aggregation and coagulation properties. A ratio of 4 RBCs to 1 platelet (4:1) was evaluated for aggregation and coagulation compared to platelet control. Platelet aggregation and coagulation properties were evaluated with impedance aggregometry and thromboelastography, respectively. The 4:1 experimental group had significant increases in aggregation and coagulation relative to the platelet control. These results indicate that RBCs increase platelet aggregation and coagulation properties. This suggests that RBCs play a role in diseases traditionally thought of as associated solely via dysregulated platelet activation.