Comparative In Vitro Efficacy of Different Platelet Glycoprotein IIb/IIIa Antagonists on Platelet-Mediated Clot Strength Induced by Tissue Factor With Use of Thromboelastography

Abstract
—In the present study, the in vitro efficacy of different platelet glycoprotein IIb/IIIa (GPIIb/IIIa) antagonists on platelet-fibrin–mediated clot strength under shear was compared with the antiaggregatory efficacy by using tissue factor (TF) thromboelastography (TEG). The ability of platelets to augment the elastic properties of blood clots under shear conditions was measured by computerized TEG under conditions of maximal platelet activation accelerated by recombinant TF. Under these conditions, platelets significantly enhance clot strength 8-fold (relative to platelet-free fibrin clots). This effect was inhibited to a different extent by various platelet GPIIb/IIIa receptor antagonists; this inhibition appears to be dependent on the transmission of platelet contractile force to fibrin via the GPIIb/IIIa receptors. The GPIIb/IIIa antagonists with high binding affinity for resting and activated platelets and slow platelet dissociation rates (class I) but not those with fast platelet dissociation ...