Antithrombotic effect of ticlopidine on He-Ne laser-induced thrombus formation in rat mesenteric microvessels

The inhibitory effects of ticlopidine and acetylsalicylic acid (ASA) on thrombus formation in rat mesenteric microvessels were studied. The results were compared with the effect of the drugs on platelet aggregation in citrated whole blood. He-Ne laser-induced thrombus formation in arterioles and in venules was significantly inhibited by 100 mg/kg ticlopidine. In contrast, a higher dose of ASA (300 mg/kg) was needed to inhibit thrombus formation and the effects of ASA were observed only in arterioles and not in venules. In addition, although the inhibition by ASA in arterioles was not strong it followed a dose-dependent manner, suggesting that the differential effect of ASA on platelets and endothelium may not be evident in vivo. Ticlopidine and ASA strongly inhibited ADP-induced whole blood platelet aggregation, but not collagen- or thrombin-induced platelet aggregation.