Fibrinogen adsorption and platelet adhesion to metal and carbon coatings

In order to study the haemocompatibility of metal and carbon coatings, fibrinogen adsorption and platelet adhesion to various coatings have been investigated. Two metallic coatings--titanium and zirconium, and two carbon coatings - isotropic diamond-like and isotropic graphite-like coatings, were prepared by plasma vapour deposition onto stainless steel substrate. It has been shown that the adsorption of fibrinogen to metal and carbon coatings and its post-adsorptive transition are dependent on both the material properties and the fibrinogen environment. The adsorption of fibrinogen from human plasma on titanium and zirconium coatings is similar to that on uncoated stainless steel surface. Both carbon coatings adsorb much greater amount of fibrinogen from plasma, and fibrinogen retention by carbon surfaces is also greater than by metal surfaces. Increased numbers of adhered platelets have been found on both carbon coatings in comparison to the metal materials, although this does not correlate with the amount of adsorbed fibrinogen.     

Simulation of platelet adhesion and aggregation regulated by fibrinogen and von Willebrand factor

We propose a method to analyze platelet adhesion and aggregation computationally, taking into account the distinct properties of two plasma proteins, von Willebrand factor (vWF) and fibrinogen (Fbg). In this method, the hydrodynamic interactions between platelet particles under simple shear flow were simulated using Stokesian dynamics based on the additivity of velocities. The binding force between particles mediated by vWF and Fbg was modeled using the Voigt model. Two Voigt models with different properties were introduced to consider the distinct behaviors of vWF and Fbg. Our results qualitatively agreed with the general observation of a previous in-vitro experiment, thus demonstrating that the significant development of thrombus formation in height requires not only vWF, but also Fbg. This agreement of simulation and experimental results qualitatively validates our model and suggests that consideration of the distinct roles of vWF and Fbg is essential to investigate the physiological and pathophysiological mechanisms of thrombus formation using a computational approach.     

Fibrinogen adsorption,platelet adhesion and thrombin generation at heparinized surfaces exposed to flowing blood

Thrombus formation at an artificial surface in contact with blood is a complex process that encompasses accretion of platelets from flowing blood and fibrin deposition. Platelet adhesion and fibrin formation are intimately intertwined reactions that are triggered by different sets of surface adsorbed plasma proteins. To dissect the contribution of protein adsorption and platelet adhesion to thrombin formation, a coherent study was performed with non-coated (NC) and heparin-coated (HC) surfaces. Thrombin production in whole blood, platelet adhesion and protein adsorption were studied using an amidolytic thrombin assay, a dynamic platelet adhesion assay and ellipsometry, respectively. Thrombin generation in flowing whole blood exposed to HC surfaces was greatly diminished when compared with NC surfaces. However, separate platelet adhesion and protein adsorption studies with anticoagulated whole blood revealed that platelets do not adhere because fibrinogen is not available in the protein layer that was deposited during the perfusion. These findings indicate that the in vitro thrombogenicity of a material cannot be predicted from platelet adhesion and protein adsorption data when these measurements are performed with anti-coagulated blood or platelet rich plasma. Preincubation of NC and HC surfaces with fibrinogen or 2000-fold diluted plasma resulted in similar amounts of surface-bound fibrinogen and mediated massive platelet adhesion from flowing whole blood. These results indicate that a) platelet adhesion correlates with the availability of surface-bound fibrinogen and b) NC and HC surfaces are indistinguishable with respect to protein (fibrinogen) adsorption and platelet adhesion. It is apparent that the heparinized surface used in our studies exerts its anti-thrombogenic properties by neutralizing locally formed thrombin and not by reducing fibrinogen-dependent platelet adhesion.     

Evidence that plasma fibrinogen and platelet membrane GPIIb-IIIa are involved in the adhesion of platelets to an artificial surface exposed to plasma

We investigated the molecular mechanism(s) by which platelets adhere to an artificial surface exposed to plasma, using polystyrene microtiter plates pretreated with plasma. Washed platelets labelled with ⁵¹Cr were incubated with the plates under static conditions. Prostaglandin E₁(PGE₁) was added to the platelets to prevent platelet-platelet interactions. Adhesion required the presence of a divalent cation such as Mg⁺⁺ or Ca⁺⁺. Polyclonal anti-fibrinogen antibody inhibited adhesion by 70%. Polyclonal antibodies against fibronectin, vitronectin, von Willebrand's Factor, and the Fc portion of human IgG, had no effect on adhesion. Platelets adhered normally to a surface pretreated with plasma from a patient with severe von Willebrand's disease. No platelet adhesion occurred when the surface was pretreated with an afibrinogenemic plasma. Monoclonal antibodies against platelet membrane GPIIb-IIIa, potent inhibitors of ADP-induced fibrinogen binding to platelets, completely inhibited adhesion. Monoclonal antibodies against the GPIb subunit and GPIc(VLA ₅) showed no inhibitory effects on adhesion. Platelets from a patient with Glanzmann's thrombasthenia (type 1) did not adhere to the surface pretreated with normal plasma. These results suggest that plasma fibrinogen adsorbed onto the surface and that platelet membrane glycoprotein(GP)IIb-IIIa were responsible for adhesion in an activation-independent manner.     

Inhibition of platelet adhesion to fibrin(ogen) in flowing whole blood by Arg-Gly-Asp and fibrinogen gamma-chain carboxy terminal peptides.

We have employed synthetic peptides with sequences corresponding to the integrin receptor-recognition regions of fibrinogen as inhibitors of platelet aggregation and adhesion to fibrinogen- and fibrin-coated surfaces in flowing whole blood, using a rectangular perfusion chamber at wall shear rates of 300 s-1 and 1,300 s-1. D-RGDW caused substantial inhibition of platelet aggregation and adhesion to fibrinogen and fibrin at both shear rates, although it was least effective at blocking platelet adhesion to fibrin at 300 s-1. RGDS was a weaker inhibitor, and produced a biphasic dose-response curve; SDRG was inactive. HHLGGAKQAGDV partially inhibited platelet aggregation and adhesion to fibrin(ogen) at both shear rates. These results support the identification of an RGD-specific receptor, most likely the platelet integrin glycoprotein IIb:IIIa, as the primary receptor responsible for platelet:fibrin(ogen) adhesive interactions under flow conditions, and indicate that platelet adhesion to surface bound fibrin(ogen) is stabilized by multivalent receptor-ligand contacts.     

Studies on the effect of platelet inhibitors on platelet adhesion to collagen and collagen-induced human platelet activation

The effect of pyridoxal 5'-phosphate (PALP) and trifluoperazine (TFPZ), the calmodulin antagonist, on in vitro platelet adhesion to collagen and collagen-induced platelet activation was studied using platelet-rich-plasma (PRP) or washed platelets (WPL). Platelet aggregation and [14C]-5HT release induced by "threshold" or low concentrations of collagen (0.6 micrograms/ml) in PRP were completely abolished by PALP (24 mM), TFPZ (250 microM) as well as indomethacin (10 microM). At higher concentrations of collagen (10-15 micrograms/ml) in PRP and WPL, the use of stirred and unstirred platelets treated with collagen enabled a distinction to be made between aggregation and adhesion-mediated release reaction. Platelet aggregation and the aggregation-mediated release reaction induced by these concentrations of collagen in stirred platelets were completely abolished by PALP, TFPZ and indomethacin although neither adhesion to collagen nor the adhesion-mediated release reaction of unstirred platelets was significantly affected by these inhibitors. Interestingly, both adhesion and the adhesion-mediated release reaction were abolished by concentrations of PALP 10-40 fold higher than those required to abolish aggregation. Collagen-induced platelet aggregation, but not platelet adhesion, was inhibited in resuspended platelets pretreated with PALP and NaBH4 indicating a separation in the membrane sites involved in aggregation and adhesion. The results further emphasize the distinction between adhesion and aggregation-mediated events with regards to collagen with the latter being more susceptible to inhibition by antiplatelet agents such as PALP and TFPZ.     

Effect of fibrinogen on ADP-induced platelet aggregation

The effect of fibrinogen on ADP-induced platelet aggregation was studied. In absence of ADP no binding of fibrinogen to platelets was observed. On addition of ADP to platelets, fibrinogen induced a dose-related aggregation and release reaction. Binding of approximately 1,000 fibrinogen molecules per platelet was observed. Since fragments of fibrinogen could inhibit this reaction it is suggested that ADP exposes structures on the platelet membrane which bind to fibrinogen. It is suggested that this binding of fibrinogen is of importance for the aggregation of platelets in presence of ADP.

Addition of ADP at high concentrations to platelets induces release of intracellullar fibrinogen which may explain the aggregation occurring at high concentration of ADP in the absence of added fibrinogen.     

Plasma and platelet fibrinogen differ in gamma chain content

The polypeptide chain composition of fibrinogen and crosslinked fibrin from normal platelets and plasma has been compared by sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. Fibrinogen was prepared from a lysate of normal human platelets by ethanol precipitation and by antifibrinogen immunoaffinity chromatography. While the A alpha chains of platelet fibrinogen appeared to be somewhat degraded, the electrophoretic mobilities of purified platelet and plasma fibrinogen B beta and gamma chains were the same. Crosslinked fibrin was prepared from platelet and plasma fibrinogen and gamma chain dimers identified by their electrophoretic mobility, incorporation of the lysine analog dansyl cadaverine during crosslinking, and by reaction with antifibrinogen antibody in Western blots. Platelet crosslinked fibrin had a different polypeptide chain composition than that of plasma crosslinked fibrin with absence of the gamma 50-gamma 57.5 dimer in the platelet fibrin. This finding indicates that the gamma 57.5 chain, which constitutes 5% of total normal plasma fibrinogen gamma chains, is either absent or present in markedly reduced amounts in platelet fibrinogen.     

Importance of fibrinogen and platelet membrane glycoprotein IIb/IIIa in shear-induced platelet aggregation

The mechanism of shear-induced platelet aggregation was investigated using a polycarbonate cone and plate viscometer. After exposed to shear stress of 54-90 dyne/cm2 for 2 min. at 37 degrees C, platelets aggregated without a significant amount of serotonin release and lactic dehydrogenase leakage from platelets. Under this conditions, platelets from 2 patients with thrombasthenia and a patient with congenital afibrinogenemia failed to aggregate. When fibrinogen was added to platelet rich plasma from a patient with afibrinogenemia, shear-induced platelet aggregation occurred at the same extent of aggregation as observed in normal platelets. Shear-induced platelet aggregation was inhibited by monoclonal antibody to GPIIb/IIIa (1 microgram/ml) and synthetic peptide, Arg-Gly-Asp-Ser (RGDS) (1 mM). Apyrase and hirudin showed no effect on this aggregation. Indomethacin (100 microM) and thromboxane A2 synthetase inhibitor, OKY-046 (100 microM) markedly inhibited aggregation, while thromboxane A2 competitive inhibitor, ONO-3708 (100 microM) exhibited only partial inhibition. These results indicate that fibrinogen and GPIIb/IIIa are important for shear-induced platelet aggregation and that the induction of fibrinogen receptor on GPIIb/IIIa may partially depend upon thromboxane A2 synthesis in platelets.     

Fibronectin and coagulation factor XIII increases blood platelet adhesion to fibrin

Fibronectin is covalently linked to fibrin during clot formation by coagulation factor XIII and has been suggested as a possible mediator of platelet adhesion to collagen. Fixed human platelets were found to adhere to fibrin. This adhesion was significantly increased when fibronectin was incorporated into the fibrin network, and was supported by factor XIII.     

On the role of the major platelet membrane glycoproteins in platelet adhesion to collagen

The effect of modification of intact rabbit platelets with chymotrypsin, trypsin or thrombin on platelet adhesion to collagen fibers was determined. Experiments were performed $\text{in vitro}$ with washed platelets suspended in a medium containing EGTA to prevent platelet aggregation. Platelet adhesion was unaffected by chymotrypsin or thrombin treatment but was reduced upon trypsin treatment. The latter effect could be attributed to the ADP released upon trypsin treatment. In the presence of high concentrations of AMP, adhesion was restored to control values. Release also occurred on thrombin treatment but this did not influence adhesion.The effect of the enzymes on platelet membrane glycoproteins was monitored by gel electrophoresis. Chymotrypsin caused the loss, at least, of the regions susceptible to lactoperoxidase-catalyzed iodination and to periodic acid-Schiff (PAS) staining from the major membrane glycoproteins I, II and III of rabbit platelets. Such degradation also occurred to glycoproteins I and II with trypsin, but thrombin was without detectable effect on the major membrane glycoproteins.The results indicate that degradation of the major membrane glycoproteins does not affect adhesion to collagen. Adhesion appears to be mediated either by protease-resistant parts of these molecules or by other membrane entities not readily attacked by proteases.     

gammaA/gamma' fibrinogen inhibits thrombin-induced platelet aggregation

The minor gammaA/gamma' fibrinogen isoform contains a high affinity binding site for thrombin exosite II that is lacking in the major gammaA/gammaA fibrinogen isoform. We therefore investigated the biological consequences of the gamma' chain binding to thrombin. Thrombin-induced platelet aggregation was inhibited by gammaA/gamma' fibrinogen. Carboxyl terminal peptide fragment gamma'410-427 from the gamma' chain was also inhibitory, with an IC(50) of approximately 200 microM in whole plasma. Deletion of the peptide from either the amino or carboxyl end significantly decreased inhibition. In contrast to thrombin-induced platelet aggregation, aggregation induced by epinephrine, ADP, arachidonic acid, or SFLLRN peptide showed little inhibition by the gamma' peptide. The inhibition of thrombin-induced platelet aggregation was not due to direct inhibition of the thrombin active site, since cleavage of a small peptidyl substrate was 91% of normal even in the presence of 1 mM gamma'410-427. The gamma'410-427 peptide blocked platelet adhesion to immobilized thrombin under both static and flow conditions, blocked soluble thrombin binding to platelet GPIbalpha, and inhibited PAR1 cleavage by thrombin. These results suggest that the gamma' chain of fibrinogen inhibits thrombin-induced platelet aggregation by binding to thrombin exosite II. Thrombin that is bound to the gamma' chain is thereby prevented from activating platelets, while retaining its amidolytic activity.     

Cleavage of fibrinogen by human platelet calcium-activated protease

In lysates of washed human platelets produced by sonication or by addition of nonionic detergent, fibrinogen (Mr 340,000) was rapidly degraded, under conditions favorable to activation of the endogenous calcium-activated protease (CAP), to a core derivative (Mr 280-290,000) composed of partially degraded A alpha chains (Mr 47,000, 46,000, and 34,000) and B beta chains (Mr 56,000), and apparently intact gamma chains (Mr 53-54,000). Extensive degradation occurred within one minute at 4 degrees C, ambient temperature or at 37 degrees C, and was inhibited by leupeptin, EDTA, EGTA, or N-Ethylmaleimide, but not by soybean trypsin inhibitor, hirudin, aprotonin, benzamidine, phenylmethylsulfonyl fluoride or epsilon-aminocaproic acid. Purified plasma fibrinogen exposed to lysates containing active protease was cleaved in an identical fashion. The cleavage pattern of A alpha chains produced by this platelet protease activity is different from that produced by plasmin in vitro or that found in fibrinogen catabolites in vivo, and is unlike that produced by any cellular fibrinolytic enzyme yet described. In view of this finding, as well as the striking differential inhibitory effect of the agents cited above, we conclude that the degradation of platelet fibrinogen observed in these studies is due to direct proteolysis by platelet CAP.     

Unique immunochemical features and intracellular stability of platelet fibrinogen.

The characteristics of fibrinogen present in fresh and stored platelets have been immunochemically characterized and compared with plasma fibrinogen. Protein components of fresh platelets and platelets stored for 2 or 4 days appeared comparable with respect to mobilities and quantitative absorbance in polyacrylamide gels, and similar quantities of fibrinogen were present in platelet lysates at each time. Immunochemical analysis indicated however that the platelet fibrinogen after 2 or 4 days was not identical to the fresh platelet fibrinogen in the lysates. Differences were noted with respect to the expression of native antigenic determinants of plasma fibrinogen as well as the antigenic expressions of the Aα, Bβ and γ chains. The differences in immunochemical expression were both qualitative and quantitative in nature, and the stored platelet samples were less comparable to plasma fibrinogen than the fresh platelet lysate. No changes in the immunochemical expression of plasma fibrinogen was observed in these samples stored for the same periods of time. Comparison of plasma fibrinogen and platelet fibrinogen with respect to the immunochemical expressions of the native molecule and of the constituent chains indicated that the molecules were not identical. Marked differences were noted between fresh as well as stored platelet fibrinogen samples and reference plasma fibrinogen. These results suggest that platelet and plasma fibrinogen are not absolutely identical and establish the necessity for the use of fresh platelets for the isolation and detailed immunochemical and fine structural characterization of platelet fibrinogen.     

Membrane fluidity and platelet fibrinogen receptor exposure by proteolytic enzymes

Incubation of platelets with pronase or chymotrypsin results in the exposure of fibrinogen receptors. We determined that these enzymes did not affect the membrane fluidity as evaluated by the depolarization of the fluorescence of 1,6-diphenyl-1,3,5 hexatriene (DPH). There was no significant difference in either the depolarization or in its temperature dependence for control, pronase or chymotrypsin-treated platelets. Thus, it can be concluded that the exposure of fibrinogen receptors on the platelet surface by proteolytic enzymes does not depend on the changes of membrane fluidity. We also propose that the proteolytic enzymes do not cause a major alteration in the extent of protein chains embedded in the lipid layers of the platelet membranes.     

Asialo von Willebrand factor enhances platelet adhesion to vessel subendothelium

Native von Willebrand factor (N-vWF) binds to platelets activated by thrombin, ADP or ristocetin. Asialo vWF (As-vWF) induces platelet aggregation in absence of platelet activators. N-vWF mediates platelet adhesion to vessel subendothelium at high shear rates. We have investigated the role of As-vWF in supporting platelet deposition to rabbit vessel subendothelium at a shear rate of 2,000 sec-1, using the Baumgartner perfusion system. We have studied the effects of the addition of As-vWF (from 2 to 12 micrograms/ml) to perfusates consisting of washed red blood cells, 4% human albumin and washed platelets. Our results show a significant increase in platelet deposition on subendothelium (p less than 0.01) in perfusions to which As-vWF had been added. Blockage of the platelet glycoproteins Ib and IIb/IIIa (GPIb and GPIIb/IIIa) by specific monoclonal antibodies (LJIb1 and LJCP8, respectively) resulted in a decrease of platelet deposition in both types of perfusates prepared with N-vWF and As-vWF. Our results indicate that As-vWF enhances platelet deposition to vessel subendothelium under flow conditions. Furthermore, they suggest that this effect is mediated by the binding of As-vWF to platelet membrane receptors, which in turn, promote platelet spreading and adhesion to the subendothelium.