Plasma chemokines indicate enhanced bleeding in patients with chronic coronary syndrome undergoing percutaneous coronary stenting

Background: Patients with coronary artery disease (CAD) are at increased risk of developing ischemic events and contemporary antiplatelet therapy often leads to bleeding events following percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI). Glycoprotein VI (GPVI) is the key receptor of collagen-dependent thrombus formation and crucial for platelet homeostasis. Methods: We analysed the influence of GPVI inhibition with revacept in a randomized double-blinded trial enrolling 334 patients with CAD undergoing elective PCI. Ex vivo platelet function analyses were assessed alongside plasma chemokine concentrations. We then elucidate changes of GPVI-dependent chemokine concentrations in patients with bleeding events during the 30-day clinical follow-up. Results: Changes in platelet function occur in patients with revacept treatment and are associated with a characteristic alteration of circulating chemokine concentrations. Further, patients with adverse bleeding events share a distinct fingerprint of chemokines that is associated with modulation of in vitro platelet functions. In addition, assessment of GPVI-associated changes in chemokine signalling and platelet functions demonstrated an increased diagnostic value in patients with CAD and might improve early risk discrimination for bleeding events. Conclusion: The composition of platelet-derived chemokines correlated with platelet functions following antiplatelet treatment. Thus, assessment of chemokines may offer the perspective to identify patients at increased risk for bleeding events. Likewise, modulation of platelet chemokines in patients with revacept treatment contributes to the efficacy of antiplatelet treatment and might attenuate pathophysiological cascades leading to haemorrhagic diathesis in patients with CAD.