Program: Oral and Poster Abstracts
Session: 301. Platelet Activation and Biochemistry: Poster II
The goal of our project was to determine the mechanism of cadherin-6 mediated adhesion in platelets. Our initial experiments demonstated that cadherin-6 and β-catenin co-localize at the plasma membrane in platelets using confocal immunofluorescence microscopy. We determined that α-catenin and β-catenin co-immunoprecipitate with cadherin-6 from platelet lysates. To examine the functional role of cadherin-6 on platelet aggregation we used a cadherin-6 blocking antibody (10 μg/ml). Blocking cadherin-6 inhibited mouse platelet aggregation induced by PAR4 peptide. We next determined the role of cadherin-6 in vivo by examining carotid artery thrombosis after 7.5% FeCl3 treatment. C57Bl6 mice were injected with cadherin-6 antibody IV and labeled with rhodamine 6G by jugular vein injection. Thrombus formation was imaged in real time by fluorescent intravital microscopy. Blocking cadherin-6 prevented thrombosis for the duration of the experiment (30 min). To verify that the effects that we observed were specific to cadherin-6 expressed on platelets, we isolated platelets from donor mice and treated with cadherin-6 antibody or control IgG ex vivo. The treated platelets were perfused into recipient mice that were irradiated with 11 Gy to make the animals thrombocytopenic. The cadherin-6 antibody treated platelets formed an occlusion at 26.4 ± 3.6 min vs. 13.7 ± 2.0 min for the IgG (p=0.03). Importantly, the cadherin-6 antibody did not affect platelet counts compared to IgG controls 2.97 ± 0.40 (×108) vs. 3.02 ± 0.20 (×108).
These combined studies show that caderhin-6 forms a complex with the necessary proteins required to mediate adhesion in platelets. Our results demonstrate that platelet cadherin-6 has a physiologically important role during platelet activation and thrombus formation in vivo. In summary, we have identified a novel adhesion complex in platelets that may provide a mechanism to limit platelet aggregation therapeutically. On going studies will determine the regulation of the cadherin-6/catenin complex and how cadherin-6 cooperates with other platelet adhesion molecules.
Disclosures: No relevant conflicts of interest to declare.
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