Platelet and soluble glycoprotein VI - novel applications in diagnosis and therapy

One of the key receptors involved in the prothrombotic stage of an acute coronary syndrome (ACS) is platelet glycoprotein VI (GPVI). This constitutively expressed collagen receptor is platelet-specific and has shown to be a useful biomarker tool for the early detection of atheroslerotic diseases such as ACS and ischemic stroke. In a multimarker panel of several biomarkers, platelet GPVI may contribute to risk stratification and prediction of clinical outcome in patients with symptomatic atherosclerotic diseases. Moreover, the soluble receptor of GPVI may also be an interesting and prospective target for molecular imaging to identify sites of vulnerable plaques as the results of preclinical studies suggest. Apart from the diagnostic use of platelet as well as soluble, plasmatic GPVI, therapeutical implications may be the blockade of collagen binding sides of GPVI, as platelet GPVI is not able to bind to collagen where the binding sides were already saturated with soluble GPVI. This therapeutic aspect could serve as a promising strategy for antithrombotic and antiatherosclerotic therapy in future.