Affiliations: Department of Molecular Pathobiology, Mie University School of Medicine, Mie, Osaka, Japan | Laboratory of Biopharmaceutical Research, National Institute of Biomedical Innovation, Ibaraki, Osaka, Japan | Department of Morphophysiology and Pharmacology, Mie Prefectural College of Nursing, Mie, Osaka, Japan
Note: [] Address for correspondence: Dr. Haruhiko Kamada, Laboratory of Biopharmaceutical Research, National Institute of Biomedical Innovation, 7-6-8 Saito, Asagi, Ibarak, Osaka, Japan. Tel.: +81 72 641 9811; Fax: +81 72 641 9817; E-mail: kamada@nibio.go.jp.
Abstract: New in vitro methods are desirable for the analysis of platelet aggregation and screening novel anti-platelet agents using whole blood. To this end, we examined platelet aggregation and thrombus formation in whole human blood from healthy volunteers using a microchannel array flow analyzer (MC-FAN). Platelet aggregation in whole blood, treated with the activating agents ADP, collagen or ristocetin was detected in the MC-FAN by measuring the decrease in flow rate as a function of agent concentration. The results were compared with aggregation in platelet rich plasma (PRP) in a conventional aggregometer, as measured by the increase in optical density. The MC-FAN detected platelet aggregation in whole blood at two- to four-fold lower concentrations of agonist compared to those in PRP in the aggregometer. Anti-platelet agents attenuated the decrease in blood flow rate in the MC-FAN by inhibiting fibrin formation and platelet aggregation, but anticoagulants only inhibited fibrin formation and did not affect blood flow rates. These findings suggest that the MC-FAN system may be a useful method for the evaluation of platelet activation and facilitate the development of novel anti-platelet agents.
Keywords: Platelet aggregation, blood coagulation, anti-platelet agents, drug discovery, MC-FAN
DOI: 10.3233/BIR-2010-0566
Journal: Biorheology, vol. 47, no. 2, pp. 153-161, 2010
