The accumulation of a platelet protein, thrombospondin, at the site of arterial thrombus formation: preliminary report.

There are many methods available for the detection of thrombosis, none of which are noninvasive, rapid and accurate. Thrombospondin is a platelet protein that is present in the developing thrombus and may be an effective substance to use for imaging thrombosis. Vascular stenosis and thrombosis were produced in coronary, carotid and femoral arteries in eleven adult mongrel dogs. 131I labeled thrombospondin was administered to each animal to determine whether the radiotracer accumulated at the site of thrombus formation. The radioactivity per gram of vessels with thrombi was significantly different from the control vessels or whole blood (p = 0.0037 and p = 0.0015, respectively, paired t-test). This preliminary work suggests that iodinated thrombospondin accumulates at the site of thrombus formation. Labeled thrombospondin may be a rapid, safe and accurate method of detecting arterial thrombosis.