Antiplatelet drugs (c) Flashcards
Describe the structure of platelets.
Anuclear blood cells
Biconvex when inaactive
1-3um in diameter
When activated undergo conformational change to become more star shaped in appearance
What are the normal blood counts for platelets, RBCs and WBCs?
Platelets - 150 to 450 x10^9/L
Rbcs - 3-6x10^12/L
WBC - 4.5 to 11 x10^9/L
What is the lifecycle of a platelet?
Live for 5 to 10 days
Formed from magakaryocytes.
What are the essential features in the ultrastructure of a platelet?
Alpha granules
Dense granules
Anuclear
What are the two different types fo thrombosis?
How are they different?
Arterial thrombosis - white thrombus, high platelet count, normally triggered by sheer stress and endothelial injury, treated by aspiring and anti-platelet drugs. Cause MI and thrombotic stroke
Venous thrombosis - red thrombus, higher amounts of fibrin and rbcs, main contributor is coagulation from stasis, causes DVT and PE, treated by warfarin, heparin and DOACs.
What is the clinical importance of platelets in thrombosis?
Arterial thrombosis
Coronary - MI
Cerebral - Ischaemic stroke
Approx: 30% mortality in west is due to arterial thrombosis.
What is the function of platelets?
Adhere to damaged tissue particulary subendothelial collagen exposed in endothelial injury
Then undergo a conformational change due to actin reorganisation, will have pseudopodia, filopodia and lamellipodia this covers a greater area and patches up the damage
Will release functional mediators (see card)
Aggregate together due to cross links between fibrinogen and GPIIb/IIIa on platelet surface.
Them promote coagulation by expressing phosphatidylserine on surface aiding the coagulation cascade.
What functional mediators do platelets release?
Stored mediators include:
Dense granules - ADP, ATP, seratonin
Alpha granules - fibrinogen, fibrinogen receptor
Synthesis de novo:
Thromboxane A2 from arachidonic acid
How in a lab can we estimate platelet aggregation?
Platelet rich plasma is couldy (less light absorption)
When platelets aggregate they collect together and more light can pass through the mixture
In platelet poor plasma - the most light passes through.
We can measure absorption over time, is starts with low absorption = low platelet
Is starts with high absorption and rapidly decreases then high platelet aggregation.
What are the features of integrin αIIb/β3?
Also known as fibrinogen receptor, GPIIb/IIIa or CD41/CD61
Are heterodimers with alpha and beta subunits
Only expressed in platelets, and in high quantities
Also found in alpha granules
Have high and low affinity forms with inside out signalling changing between the two.
What are the features of fibrinogen?
Is a heterohexamer (mirror ends each containing 2 alpha, 2 beta and 2 gamma chains)
Synthesised in the liver
Found in the plasma and platelet alpha granules
Has two RGD binding motifes for GPIIb/IIIa on platelets.
Describe how the GPIIb/IIIa becomes a high affinity form?
Platelet is activated
Talin binds to the cytoplasmic domain of receptor
Causes a conformational change - folds outside or inside out exposing binding site for fibrinogen at the junction between IIb and IIIa.
What substances can activate platelets?
Collagen (found in ECM)
Thrombin (from coag cascade)
ADP (from dense granules)
Thromboxane A2 (de novo in platelets)
Platelet activating factor (de novo) minor role
Adrenaline (circulating hormone)
Seratonin (dense granules)
What platelet activating receptors are important from a pharmacology perspective?
P2Y12 - bound to by ADP - is inhibited by clopridogel, ticagrelor, ticlopidine.
TP - bound to by thromboxane - COX inhibits reduce thromboxane
GpVI - bound to be collagen - developing glenzocimab to stop interaction
Alpha 2A - bound to be adrenaline - made worse by beta blockers.
PAR1 and PAR2 - bound to by thrombin.
What platelet inhibitory receptors are important from a pharmacology perspective?
A 2A - bound to by adenosine - dipyradamole blocks ENT1 increasing effect of adenosine.
IP - bound to be PGI 2 - COX inhibitors reduce PGI 2