Impaired ristocetin–induced Platelet Aggregation in Whole Blood Assessed with a Multiplate© Analyser Suggests a New Mechanism of Antiplatelet Effect of Aspirin and Clopidogrel,

Abstract 3362

The five channel computerized Whole Blood Aggregation instrument (Multiple Platelet Function Analyzer or Multiplate®), assesses platelet aggregation based on a modified whole blood impedance aggregation method. It permits platelet aggregation to be measured after adding commonly used agonists as arachidonic acid (ASPItest), ADP (ADPtest), collagen (COLtest), ristocetin (RISTOtest) and TRAP (TRAPtest), by detecting changes in electrical resistance in whole blood. Instrument handling is easy. Results are available within 9 minutes.

Our objective was to evaluate the effect of aspirin (irreversible inhibitor of COX-1) and/or clopidogrel (irreversible inhibitor of the platelet P2Y12 receptor) on whole blood platelet aggregations induced by the 5 agonists using the Multiplate® in patients treated by aspirin and/or clopidogrel.

Patients and controls. Two hundred and twenty two consecutive patients were recruited: 83 treated daily by 75 or 100 mg aspirin (group A); 42 treated daily by 75 mg clopidogrel (group C); 70 treated daily by 75 or 100 mg aspirin plus 75mg clopidogrel (group AC) and 27 who were daily on 100 mg aspirin before coronary intervention were tested 12 h after dual loading dose of aspirin between 75 et 500 mg and 75 to 900 mg clopidogrel according to cardiologists' recommendations: group loading aspirin-clopidogrel (LAC). Among group AC, 23 consecutive patients requiring intracranial stent placement of supra-aortic vessel were tested first at preoperative, without antiplatelet therapy, then 1 month after initiation of daily continuous dual antiplatelet therapy by 100 mg aspirin + 75mg clopidogrel. Ninety six volunteers without pathology or drugs influencing platelet functions constitute the normal control group (N).

Blood samples. All patient and controls gave informed consent prior to blood sampling. Blood samples were collected by venipuncture or obtained from the arterial sheath directly into vacutainer Becton Dickinson tube containing 0.129M sodium citrate.

Results. Patients under medication showing lower aggregation values than the arbitrary cutoff (fifth percentile of the aggregation in the normal control group was selected for each agonist) were classified as abnormal and having biological sensitivity to the agonist tested. Aggregation values above the cutoff with ASPItest or ADPtest for patients on antiplatelet agents were considered as a persistent platelet aggregation and as a biological resistance. According to the literature, resistance to aspirin was found in 8.6% of patients under aspirin alone or in combination and in 25.1% of patients under clopidogrel alone or in combination. Our main result shows an inhibition in platelet aggregation using ristocetin as agonist for 73.9% of patients taking aspirin alone, for 27.8% on clopidogrel and in 94% of patients receiving combination of the 2 drugs. This inhibition appears after aspirin + clopidogrel intake as we could observe it among patients candidates for intracranial stent placement tested before and after one month of treatment by dual antiplatelet therapy.

This effect is not related to von Willebrand Factor (vWF) deficiency since the measurement of ristocetin cofactor activity, and vWF antigen carried out among 14 patients exhibiting an inhibition in whole blood platelet aggregation using RISTOtest were normal and unchanged before and after antiplatelet treatment. VWF is essential platelet-to-platelet interactions which is promoted by the binding of VWF with platelet-receptor glycoprotein IbIX (GPIbIX).

Our results suggest: 1) aspirin inhibits the interaction of vWF to GP IbIX. This inhibition appears increased by the association of clopidogrel to aspirin. 2) a new mechanism of inhibition of the platelet function GPIbIX-vWF dependant conjointly to inhibition of cyclooxygenase by aspirin and P2Y12 receptor by clopidogrel.