Department of Biochemistry, Cardiovascular Research Institute Maastricht (CARIM), Maastricht University, Maastricht, the Netherlands.
Department of Biochemistry, Cardiovascular Research Institute Maastricht (CARIM), Maastricht University, Maastricht, the Netherlands.
Atherosclerosis. 2021 Feb;319:132-141. doi: 10.1016/j.atherosclerosis.2020.12.017. Epub 2021 Jan 16.
Atherosclerosis is an underlying cause of a broad array of cardiovascular diseases characterized by plaques, arterial wall thickening initiated by hyperlipidemia, pro-inflammatory signals, endothelial dysfunction and the influx of inflammatory cells. By still incompletely characterized mechanisms, these plaques can destabilize or erode, leading to thrombosis and blood vessel occlusion and becomes clinically manifest as angina pectoris, myocardial infarction (MI) or stroke. Among the several blood cell types that are involved in the development of atherosclerosis, the role of platelets during the thrombotic occlusion of ruptured or eroded plaques is well established and clinically exploited as evident by the extensive use of platelet inhibitors. However, there is increasing evidence that platelets are also involved in the earlier stages of atheroma development by exhibiting pro-inflammatory activities. The scope of this review is to describe the role of platelets in the initiation and propagation stages of atherosclerosis and beyond; in atherothrombotic complications.
动脉粥样硬化是多种心血管疾病的根本原因，其特征为斑块形成、动脉壁增厚，起始于高血脂、促炎信号、内皮功能障碍和炎症细胞浸润。通过尚未完全明确的机制，这些斑块可能会不稳定或破裂，导致血栓形成和血管阻塞，并表现为心绞痛、心肌梗死 (MI) 或中风等临床症状。在参与动脉粥样硬化发展的几种血细胞类型中，血小板在破裂或侵蚀斑块的血栓性闭塞中的作用已得到充分证实，并通过广泛使用血小板抑制剂在临床上得到利用。然而，越来越多的证据表明，血小板也通过表现出促炎活性而参与动脉粥样硬化早期阶段的发展。本综述的目的是描述血小板在动脉粥样硬化的起始和发展阶段以及动脉粥样硬化血栓形成并发症中的作用。
