To cite this article: Stellos K, Bigalke B, Stakos D, Henkelmann N, Gawaz M. Platelet-bound P-selectin expression in patients with coronary artery disease: impact on clinical presentation and myocardial necrosis, and effect of diabetes mellitus and anti-platelet medication. J Thromb Haemost 2010; 8: 205-7.Increasing evidence suggests that platelet activation plays an important role in the pathogenesis and clinical presentation of acute coronary syndromes (ACS) both by mediating thrombotic occlusion of large epicardial coronary arteries and influencing the extent of myocardial injury [1]. Platelet-bound P-selectin appears to represent a critical mediator in all of these processes [2]. P-selectin knock-out mice demonstrate a significantly smaller infarct size than that of wild-type mice after transient coronary occlusion [3]. Administration of antibodies against P-selectin reduces infarct size in animals [4]. However, to date, despite the large amount of experimental data, possible associations of platelet-bound P-selectin with the extent of myocardial damage in patients with ACS are poorly described. Platelet-bound P-selectin has also been studied as a potential biomarker in ACS, but its association with clinical presentation has only been examined in a small number of studies [5][6][7].The goal of the present study was to assess possible associations between platelet P-selectin and extent of myocardial injury, measured by troponin I (Tn-I) and creatine kinase-MB (CK-MB), and to investigate the relationship between Pselectin expression and clinical presentation in patients with coronary artery disease (CAD).A total of 667 consecutive patients that were referred to our hospital for symptomatic CAD and that underwent coronary intervention were studied. All patients gave written informed consent and the study was approved by the local institutional ethical committee. The patients were divided into two groups, those with stable angina (SAP; n = 348) and those with ACS (n = 319). The ACS group comprised patients with STsegment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI; n = 86), patients with non-ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (NSTEMI; n = 53) and those with unstable angina (UA) with normal CK-MB but minimal myocardial necrosis (Tn-I pos.UA; n = 180).Blood samples for flow cytometry (P-selectin) and myocardial necrosis markers were collected before coronary intervention and analyzed immediately, as previously described [8]. Peak values of Tn-I, CK, CK-MB were determined during the course of hospital stay. Specific monoclonal antibody binding was expressed as mean fluorescence intensity (MFI) and was used as a quantitative measurement of platelet P-selectin surface expression. The intra-and inter-assay of the coefficient of variation of P-selectin expression in healthy subjects were 4.2% and 15.4%, respectively.Platelet P-selectin expression was increased in patients with ACS compared with those with SAP with MFI ± 95%CI of 12.1 ± 0.6 and 10.43 ± 0.36, respectively (P = 0.002; Fig. 1A, B) independent of age, ge...