LEUKOCYTE ACCUMULATION PROMOTING FIBRIN DEPOSITION IS MEDIATED INVIVO BY P-SELECTIN ON ADHERENT PLATELETS

THE glycoprotein P-selectin is a cell adhesion molecule of stimulated platelets and endothelial cells, which mediates the interaction of these cells with neutrophils and monocytes1,2. It is a membrane component of cell storage granules3-6, and is a member of the selectin family which includes E-selectin and L-selectin7,8. P-selectin recognizes both lineage-specific carbohydrate ligands on monocytes and neutrophils, including the Lewis x antigen, sialic acid, and a protein component9-12. In inflammation and thrombosis, P-selectin may mediate the interaction of leukocytes with platelets bound in the region of tissue injury and with stimulated endothelium1,2. To evaluate the role of P-selectin in platelet-leukocyte adhesion in vivo, the accumulation of leukocytes within an experimental thrombus was explored in an arteriovenous shunt model in baboons13. A Dacron graft implanted within an arteriovenous shunt is thrombogenic, accumulating platelets and fibrin within its lumen. These bound platelets express P-selectin14. Here we show that antibody inhibition of leukocyte binding to P-selectin expressed on platelets immobilized on the graft blocks leukocyte accumulation and inhibits the deposition of fibrin within the thrombus. These results indicate that P-selectin is an important adhesion molecule on platelets, mediating platelet-leukocyte binding in vivo, that the presence of leukocytes in thrombi is mediated by P-selectin, and that these leukocytes promote fibrin deposition.