Platelet reactions to modified surfaces under dynamic conditions

The influence of surfaces on the reactions of platelets in whole blood under laminar flow was investigated in a cone and plate viscometer. Citrated whole blood was exposed to steel, PMMA and PMMA modified with PEO at low (500 s(-1)) and high (4000 s(-1)) wall shear rates at room temperature for a period of 100 s. Treated blood samples were fixed with paraformaldehyde, stained with a monoclonal antibody for CD41 (platelet GPIIb/IIIa) conjugated with phycoerythrin and analyzed by flow cytometry. The reactions of platelets (microparticle generation and formation of platelet-platelet, platelet-red blood cell and red blood cell-microparticle aggregates) to these environments were quantified. Additionally, the size of platelet-platelet aggregates was assessed. The percentage platelet aggregation and numbers of microparticles generated were independent of surface type at any shear rate. The composition of the aggregates formed was influenced by the surface: at low and high shear rates PMMA caused the generation of platelet-platelet aggregates of the greatest size. The numbers of red blood cell-platelet and red blood cell-microparticle aggregates also varied depending on the surface. Fewer red blood cell-platelet aggregates were formed at higher shear rates, whereas the reverse was true for red blood cell-microparticle aggregates. It is concluded that these variations may help to explain the differential effects of surfaces to the induction of distant thrombotic events: microparticles may be protected from loss from the blood stream by their association with red blood cells at high shear rates.