Recent in vitro studies have shown that shear stress can cause platelet activation by agonist-independent pathways. However, no studies have assessed the extent of shear-induced platelet activation within human coronary arteries. We sampled blood from the coronary arteries proximal and distal to coronary lesions and from the coronary sinus in humans with stable coronary disease who were taking both aspirin and clopidogrel. A novel, computationally based technique for estimating shear stress from 3-dimensional coronary angiographic images of these arteries was developed, and the effect of stenosis severity and calculated shear stress on in vivo platelet and related leukocyte activation pathways were determined. We provide evidence of intracoronary upregulation of platelet P-selectin, plateletmonocyte aggregation, and monocyte CD11b without platelet glycoprotein IIb-IIIa activation or soluble P-selectin up-regulation. This correlates with intracoronary stenosis severity and calculated shear stress and occurs despite the concurrent use of aspirin and clopidogrel. Our results show for the first time shear-related platelet and monocyte activation in human coronary arteries and suggest this as a potential therapeutic target that is resistant to conventional antiplatelet agents. (Blood. 2011;117(1): 11-20)
IntroductionPlatelet activation and aggregation are critical to the pathogenesis of atherothrombosis. 1,2 Platelets are also known to play a main role in inflammation, partly by the interaction between platelets and leukocytes, 2-4 and it is known that shear stress can cause platelet activation, 5-12 platelet-leukocyte aggregation, 8,9 and leukocyte activation. 8,9 Procedures such as coronary angioplasty can alleviate focal coronary stenosis. However, many patients with diffuse, severe coronary disease are unsuitable for such treatment and may therefore be exposed to long-term platelet and leukocyte activation secondary to increased intracoronary shear stress.Although in vitro and animal studies have shown shear stressinduced platelet activation and aggregation, a direct relationship between shear stress and in situ platelet activation has not been shown within human coronary arteries. 13 Previous investigators have found evidence of transcardiac platelet activation with increased P-selectin expression as platelets travel from the aortic root to the coronary sinus (CS), the main vein draining blood from the heart in patients with coronary disease. 14 However, it is not known whether platelets are indeed activated as they cross coronary lesions, and no studies to date have investigated the direct effect of stenosis severity and shear stress on in situ platelet activation within human coronary arteries.Current antiplatelet agents such as aspirin, thienopyridines, and glycoprotein (GP) IIb-IIIa inhibitors attenuate agonist-induced platelet activation, [15][16][17] and GPIIb-IIIa inhibitors reduce shearinduced platelet aggregation. 10,18,19 However, shear stress overcomes aspirin inhibition of platelet aggregation. 20 Fu...