English

Maria Stepanyan

MSU, Faculty of physics

A strong correlation exists between platelet consumption and platelet hyperactivation in COVID-19 patients. Pilot study of the patient cohort from CCH RAS Hospital (Troitsk).

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It is known that in COVID-19, hypercoagulation and sometimes thrombocytopenia are related to disease severity. There is also controversial data on platelet participation in COVID-19 pathology. We aimed to determine the degree of platelet hyperactivation in COVID-19 patients. Whole blood flow cytometry with Annexin-V and lactadherin staining ("PS+ platelets") was utilized. Additionally, a stochastic mathematical model of platelet production and consumption was developed. Here we demonstrated that the percentage of PS+ platelets in COVID-19 patients was twofold that of healthy donors. There was a significant correlation between the amount of PS+ platelets and the percentage of lung damage in patients. No connection was found between platelet senescence and hospital therapy or patients' chronic diseases, except for chronic lung disease. Although no thrombocytopenia was observed in patients, the observed increase in platelet size (FSC-A parameter in flow cytometry) could indicate that platelet age is decreased in patients. The developed computational model of platelet turnover confirms the possibility of intense platelet consumption without noticeable changes in platelet count. We conclude that the observed platelet hyperactivation in COVID-19 could be caused by platelet activation in circulation, leading to platelet consumption without significant thrombocytopenia.

Computational model of platelet production in the presence of COVID-19 induced thrombosis. A – Detailed scheme of the model (most sensitive reactions are highlighted in red). B – Dependence of the average platelet count (green curve and dots) and platelet size (red curve and dots) from the platelet consumption index in the model. Platelet number and size in the absence of consumption lie in the areas, highlighted by green and red rectangles correspondingly. C – Platelet size distribution in the absence (green bars) and the presence (red bars) of consumption (with consumption index set to 2). Whiskers on all plots represent SD.
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#COVID-19#platelets#coagulation#inflammation#hyperactivation

Platelet functional responses and signalling: the molecular relationship. Part 1: responses.

Blood platelets are small anucleated cells whose main function is to form a plug upon vascular damage to stop bleeding. This role involves a number of functional responses induced by different agonists and coordinated by an intricate network of signal transduction pathways. Understanding this network is vital from both basic research point of view and for the purposes of drug target identification in thrombosis and hemostasis. This review series will focus on the regulation of platelet signalling, on tracking the molecular relationship between receptor activation and functional responses, and on the networking aspects of these pathways. The present paper, first one out of two, focuses on the description of platelet functional responses and of the conditions for their triggering.
Platelet functional responses within arterial thrombus.
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#hemostasis#platelet activation#platelet intracellular signaling#thrombosis#thrombus formation