The administration of glycoprotein IIb/IIIa inhibitors is considered to provide additional benefit to mechanical reperfusion in the treatment of patients with ST elevation myocardial infarction and is included as a class-IIa recommendation in the Guidelines for Percutaneous Coronary Intervention of the European Society of Cardiology. Glycoprotein IIb/IIIa inhibitors block the surface receptor, ...

To the Editor: Platelet glycoprotein (GP) IIb/IIIa antagonists only prompt an overall 8.5% relative reduction in 30-day deaths or myocardial infarction in acute coronary syndromes (ACS),1 and Quinn et al1 suggested that this limited benefit may be due to factors such as antagonist-induced platelet activation. I suggest that limited benefits of GP IIb/IIIa inhibition are due basically to limited...

Platelet glycoprotein IIb/IIIa (GP IIb/IIIa), the receptor complex for fibrinogen, has been regarded as a megakaryocyte/platelet lineage-restricted antigen. Recently, however, it has been reported that GP IIb/IIIa is expressed in blood monocytes. Studies were performed to establish the origin and immunological characteristics of monocyte-associated glycoproteins IIb and IIIa (GPs IIb and IIIa)....

To determine if megakaryocytes are targeted by immune thrombocytopenic purpura (ITP) autoantibodies, as are platelets, we have studied the effects of ITP plasma on in vitro megakaryocytopoiesis. Umbilical cord blood mononuclear cells were incubated in the presence of thrombopoietin and 10% plasma from either ITP patients (n = 53) or healthy donors. The yield of megakaryocytic cells, as determin...

BACKGROUND Tests developed to monitor glycoprotein (GP) IIb/IIIa blockade do not properly reflect platelet function in vivo and need a baseline (pretreatment) value. Because GP IIb/IIIa is essential in platelet aggregation and thrombosis under shear conditions, a flow-dependent approach to monitor its inhibition can be used. METHODS AND RESULTS We compared a test based on flow-dependent plate...

This study explores conformational states of human platelet glycoprotein IIIa (GP IIIa) and possible mechanisms of fibrinogen receptor exposure. D3GP3 is an IgG1, kappa monoclonal antibody generated against purified GP IIIa and found to be specific for GP IIIa by immunoprecipitation and Western blot analysis. The binding of D3GP3 to resting platelets caused fibrinogen binding (approximately 5,0...