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Thromb Haemost 1995; 74(04): 1059-1063
DOI: 10.1055/s-0038-1649882
Original Article
Clinical Studies
Schattauer GmbH Stuttgart

Flow Cytometric Detection of Activated Platelets in Pregnant Women Prior to the Development of Pre-Eclampsia

Sarah L Janes
1   The Haemostasis Unit, Academic Department of Haematology, London, UK,
,
Phillipa M Kyle
3   The Nuffield Department of Obstetrics & Gynaecology, John Radcliffe Hospital, Oxford, UK
,
Christopher Redman
3   The Nuffield Department of Obstetrics & Gynaecology, John Radcliffe Hospital, Oxford, UK
,
Alison H Goodall
2   The Vascular Cell Biology Laboratory, Department of Chemical Pathology & Human Metabolism, Royal Free Hospital School of Medicine, London, UK
› Author Affiliations
Further Information

Publication History

Received 21 March 1995

Accepted 02 June 1995

Publication Date:
09 July 2018 (online)

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Summary

Pre-eclampsia is a common complication of pregnancy, in which platelets may have an early pathogenetic role. In this prospective study a whole blood flow cytometric method has been used to detect circulating activated platelets in pregnant women prior to the development of pre-eclampsia. Activated platelets were identified by bound fibrinogen or by CD63 antigen expression. Of 121 healthy primiparous women studied at 28 weeks of pregnancy, 18 (15%) developed clinical pre-eclampsia six to thirteen weeks later. The platelets of these women showed increased fibrinogen binding ex vivo (5.1% platelets positive, compared with 3.4% in those who completed a normal pregnancy, p <0.02), and increased CD63 antigen expression (0.73% positive compared to 0.45%, p = 0.01). In contrast, no differences between the women with different outcomes were detected at 28 weeks in platelet counts, or plasma ß-thromboglobulin levels. These findings confirm that whole blood flow cytometry is a sensitive technique for investigating platelet activation in a clinical setting and support the hypothesis that platelets have a critical role in the pathogenesis of pre-eclampsia

 

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