Summary
Thrombin plays a key role in platelet activation and thrombosis. Specific inhibition
of thrombin appears to be one of the best approaches to prevent thrombus formation.
We have studied the effects of a synthetic a-aminoboronic acid derivative - [Ac, (D)
Phe-Pro-Boro-Arg-Hydrocloric acid] - on platelet deposition on severely damaged arterial
wall. Platelet deposition was evaluated under well characterized rheological conditions
in an original perfusion chamber and detected by autologous mIn-labeled platelets. The study was performed “in vivo” in a porcine model of arterial
thrombosis triggered by severely damaged vessel wall at blood flow conditions mimicking
mild stenosis (1690 s−1) and patent (212 s−1) vessels. In addition, ex-vivo platelet aggregation activity was evaluated by whole
blood impedance aggregometry using collagen, ADP and thrombin as agonists. The synthetic
a-aminoboronic peptide was intravenously administered as a bolus followed by continuous
infusion. Ex vivo thrombin-induced whole blood platelet aggregation was totally abolished,
while ADP- and Collagen-induced whole blood platelet aggregation was not modified.
The effects of the synthetic antithrombin on platelet deposition were evaluated in
native blood (non-anticoagulated) conditions and in combination with heparin. Under
both experimental conditions, the synthetic peptide significantly inhibited platelet
deposition at local flow conditions of both high (1690 s−1) and low (212s−1) shear rates. Our results suggest that specific inhibition of locally generated thrombin
might be a good strategy to prevent platelet dependent arterial thrombus formation
independently of the local flow shear rate of the area at risk.