TY - JOUR A1 - Essig, Fabian A1 - Babilon, Lilith A1 - Vollmuth, Christoph A1 - Kollikowski, Alexander M. A1 - Pham, Mirko A1 - Solymosi, László A1 - Haeusler, Karl Georg A1 - Kraft, Peter A1 - Stoll, Guido A1 - Schuhmann, Michael K. T1 - High mobility group box 1 protein in cerebral thromboemboli JF - International Journal of Molecular Sciences N2 - High-mobility group box 1 protein (HMGB1) is a damage-associated molecular pattern (DAMP) involved in neutrophil extracellular trap (NET) formation and thrombosis. NETs are regularly found in cerebral thromboemboli. We here analyzed associated HMGB1 expression in human thromboemboli retrieved via mechanical thrombectomy from 37 stroke patients with large vessel occlusion. HMGB1 was detected in all thromboemboli, accounting for 1.7% (IQR 0.6–6.2%) of the total thromboemboli area and was found to be colocalized with neutrophils and NETs and in spatial proximity to platelets. Correlation analysis revealed that the detection of HMGB1 was strongly related to the number of neutrophils (r = 0.58, p = 0.0002) and platelets (r = 0.51, p = 0.001). Our results demonstrate that HMGB1 is a substantial constituent of thromboemboli causing large vessel occlusion stroke. KW - acute ischemic stroke KW - thromboemboli KW - HMGB1 KW - neutrophils KW - platelets KW - immunohistochemistry Y1 - 2021 U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-265568 SN - 1422-0067 VL - 22 IS - 20 ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Essig, Fabian A1 - Kollikowski, Alexander M. A1 - Pham, Mirko A1 - Solymosi, László A1 - Stoll, Guido A1 - Haeusler, Karl Georg A1 - Kraft, Peter A1 - Schuhmann, Michael K. T1 - Immunohistological analysis of neutrophils and neutrophil extracellular traps in human thrombemboli causing acute ischemic stroke JF - International Journal of Molecular Sciences N2 - Ischemic stroke caused by thromboembolic occlusion of large cerebral arteries, such as the internal carotid (ICA) and/or the middle cerebral artery (MCA), is treated by mechanical thrombectomy (MT). MT allows salvage of the vessel-occluding thrombemboli, which most frequently originate from the left atrium or the left ventricle of the heart or from sites of plaque rupture within large arteries above the heart. Clot composition may influence the efficacy of (intravenous) thrombolysis and MT, respectively. We analyzed 37 human thrombemboli obtained from acute ischemic stroke patients during MT with special emphasis on histological staining of neutrophils and neutrophil extracellular traps (NETs). We found neutrophils as the main cellular component of cerebral thrombemboli but encountered considerable morphological heterogeneity. Neutrophils accumulated in the border region of fibrin-rich structures indicating possible interaction of neutrophils with distinct structural thrombembolus components. Web-like NETs were found in 35 of 37 thrombemboli in varying amounts. NETs were almost exclusively found within fibrin-rich areas. Importantly, stroke etiology, age and present oral anticoagulation was associated with morphological patterns and the amount of neutrophils. Correlation of histological data and imaging data revealed that relative Hounsfield units of cerebral thrombemboli positively correlated with the amount of red blood cells. In summary, our results demonstrate that neutrophils and NETs are substantial constituents of cerebral thrombemboli and contribute to their structural complexity. KW - acute ischemic stroke KW - thrombemboli KW - neutrophils KW - NETs KW - immunohistochemistry Y1 - 2020 U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-236192 SN - 1422-0067 VL - 21 IS - 19 ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Kraft, Peter A1 - Drechsler, Christiane A1 - Gunreben, Ignaz A1 - Heuschmann, Peter Ulrich A1 - Kleinschnitz, Christoph T1 - Case-control study of platelet glycoprotein receptor Ib and IIb/IIIa expression in patients with acute and chronic cerebrovascular disease JF - PLoS ONE N2 - Background Animal models have been instrumental in defining thrombus formation, including the role of platelet surface glycoprotein (GP) receptors, in acute ischemic stroke (AIS). However, the involvement of GP receptors in human ischemic stroke pathophysiology and their utility as biomarkers for ischemic stroke risk and severity requires elucidation. Aims To determine whether platelet GPIb and GPIIb/IIIa receptors are differentially expressed in patients with AIS and chronic cerebrovascular disease (CCD) compared with healthy volunteers (HV) and to identify predictors of GPIb and GPIIb/IIIa expression. Methods This was a case-control study of 116 patients with AIS or transient ischemic attack (TIA), 117 patients with CCD, and 104 HV who were enrolled at our University hospital from 2010 to 2013. Blood sampling was performed once in the CCD and HV groups, and at several time points in patients with AIS or TIA. Linear regression and analysis of variance were used to analyze correlations between platelet GPIb and GPIIb/IIIa receptor numbers and demographic and clinical parameters. Results GPIb and GPIIb/IIIa receptor numbers did not significantly differ between the AIS, CCD, and HV groups. GPIb receptor expression level correlated significantly with the magnitude of GPIIb/IIIa receptor expression and the neutrophil count. In contrast, GPIIb/IIIa receptor numbers were not associated with peripheral immune-cell sub-population counts. Creactive protein was an independent predictor of GPIIb/IIIa (not GPIb) receptor numbers. Conclusions Platelet GPIb and GPIIb/IIIa receptor numbers did not distinguish between patient or control groups in this study, negating their potential use as a biomarker for predicting stroke risk. KW - von Willebrand factor KW - cardiovascular disease KW - increased risk KW - mice impact KW - polymorphisms inflammation KW - blood coagulability KW - atherosclerosis KW - acute ischemic stroke Y1 - 2015 U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-148806 VL - 10 IS - 3 ER -