The effect of physiologically relevant dynamic shear stress on platelet and endothelial cell activation

Blood flow induced shear stress plays an important role in platelet and endothelial cell functions. The goal of this study was to investigate the effect of physiologically relevant dynamic shear stress on platelet and endothelial cells.

Pulsatile shear stress waveforms mimicking the flow in a normal left coronary artery (0.1-1 Pa), at a 60% stenosis (0.2 - 6 Pa) and in the recirculation zone (0.01 - 0.5 Pa) behind a stenosis were used to stimulate platelets and endothelial cells in a cone and plate shearing device. Platelet activation was measured by CD62P expression and thrombogenicity. Meanwhile, endothelial cell activation and damage was measured by cell surface ICAM-1 and tissue factor expression using fluorescence microscopy. Endothelial tissue factor activity was measured using a commercial kit.

Results showed that for platelets, a short exposure to elevated shear stress at the stenosis throat did not induce significant increase in platelet activation or thrombogenicity. While the low pulsatile shear stress had a potential for enhanced thrombosis. Both low and high pulsatile shear stress led to a significant increase in ICAM-1 expression on endothelial cell surface, but only low shear stress caused tissue factor over expression and enhanced tissue factor activity.

These results suggest that low pulsatile shear stress may be more atherogenic, compared to elevated shear stress induced by stenosis.