Functional enhancement of platelet activation and aggregation by erythrocytes: role of red cells in thrombosis

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1 Physiological Sciences IDP, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ, USA
2 College of Medicine, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ, USA
3 Sarver Heart Center, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ, USA
4 College of Nursing, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ, USA
5 Department of Physiology, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ, USA
6 Department of Surgery, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ, USA
DOI
10.7287/peerj.preprints.351v1
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
Brown GE, Ritter LS, McDonagh PF, Cohen Z. 2014. Functional enhancement of platelet activation and aggregation by erythrocytes: role of red cells in thrombosis. PeerJ PrePrints 2:e351v1

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.