Related Experiment Video
Updated: May 2, 2026
Identification of Neutrophil Extracellular Traps in Paraffin-Embedded Feline Arterial Thrombi using Immunofluorescence Microscopy
Published on: March 29, 2020
Platelet activation in cats with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy
F Tablin1, T Schumacher, M Pombo
1Department of Anatomy, Physiology and Cell Biology, School of Veterinary Medicine, University of California Davis, Davis, CA.
Background:
Cats with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM) are at risk for development of systemic thromboembolic disease. However, the relationship between platelet activation state and cardiovascular parameters associated with HCM is not well described.
Objectives:
To characterize platelet activation by flow cytometric evaluation of platelet P-selectin and semiquantitative Western blot analysis of soluble platelet-endothelial cell adhesion molecule-1 (sPECAM-1).
Animals:
Eight normal healthy cats (controls) owned by staff and students of the School of Veterinary Medicine and 36 cats from the UC Davis Feline HCM Research Laboratory were studied.
Methods:
Platelet-rich plasma (PRP) was used for all flow cytometry studies. Platelet surface CD41 and P-selectin expression were evaluated before and after ADP stimulation. sPECAM-1 expression was evaluated by Western blot analysis of platelet-poor plasma that had been stabilized with aprotinin. Standard echocardiographic studies were performed.
Results:
Resting platelets from cats with severe HCM had increased P-selectin expression compared to controls, and expressed higher surface density of P-selectin reflected by their increased mean fluorescence intensities (MFI). Stimulation with ADP also resulted in significantly increased P-selectin MFI of platelets from cats with severe HCM. Increased P-selectin expression and MFI correlated with the presence of a heart murmur and end-systolic cavity obliteration (ESCO). sPECAM-1 expression from cats with moderate and severe HCM was significantly increased above those of control cats.
Conclusions And Clinical Importance:
P-selectin and sPECAM expression may be useful biomarkers indicating increased platelet activation in cats with HCM.
