Author:

Keywords:

Science & Technology, Life Sciences & Biomedicine, Cell Biology, platelet distribution width, P-selectin, coagulation, VWF, mean platelet volume, thrombo-inflammation, DENSITY SUBPOPULATIONS, TISSUE FACTOR, VOLUME, SIZE, ACTIVATION, INDEXES, HETEROGENEITY, DETERMINANTS, INFLAMMATION, HEMOSTASIS, Adult, Blood Coagulation, Blood Platelets, Cohort Studies, Family, Female, Humans, Inflammation, Leukocytes, Male, P-Selectin, Platelet Activation, Sex Characteristics, von Willebrand Factor, 31 Biological sciences, 32 Biomedical and clinical sciences

Abstract:

Defined as an index of platelet size heterogeneity, the platelet distribution width (PDW) is still a poorly characterized marker of platelet function in (sub)clinical disease. We presently validated PDW as a marker of P-selectin dependent platelet activation in the Moli-family cohort. Platelet-bound P-selectin and platelet/leukocyte mixed aggregates were measured by flow cytometry in freshly collected venous blood, both before and after in vitro platelet activation, and coagulation time was assessed in unstimulated and LPS- or TNFα-stimulated whole blood. Closure Times (CT) were measured in a Platelet Function Analyzer (PFA)-100. Multivariable linear mixed effect regression models (with age, sex and platelet count as fixed and family structure as random effect) revealed PDW to be negatively associated with platelet P-selectin, platelet/leukocyte aggregates and von Willebrand factor (VWF), and positively with PFA-100 CT, and LPS- and TNF-α-stimulated coagulation times. With the exception of VWF, all relationships were sex-independent. In contrast, no association was found between mean platelet volume (MPV) and these variables. PDW seems a simple, useful marker of ex vivo and in vitro P-selectin dependent platelet activation. Investigations of larger cohorts will define the usefulness of PDW as a risk predictor of thrombo-inflammatory conditions where activated platelets play a contributing role.