Induction of platelet-endothelial interactions in postcapillary venules in hypercholesterolemia: critical role of P-selectin.

Hypercholesterolemia is well established as a major risk marker for atherosclerosis and resultant cardiovascular disease. Recent studies suggest that platelets are intimately involved not only in thrombosis after plaque rupture, but also in the earliest events in the atherogenic process.1 In this issue of Arteriosclerosis, Thrombosis, and Vascular Biology, Tailor and Granger2 establish another potential link between hypercholesterolemia and atherosclerosis by demonstrating that diet-induced hypercholesterolemia promotes P-selectin–dependent platelet-endothelial interactions in postcapillary venules.