Dolutegravir is a highly potent HIV integrase strand transfer inhibitor that is recommended for first-line anti-retroviral treatment in all major treatment guidelines. A recent study has shown that people taking this class of anti-retroviral treatment have a substantially higher risk of early-onset cardiovascular disease, a condition shown previously to be associated with increased platelet reactivity. To date, few studies have explored the effects of dolutegravir on platelet activation.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFAlthough bedaquiline has advanced the treatment of multidrug-resistant tuberculosis (TB), concerns remain about the cardiotoxic potential of this agent, albeit by unexplored mechanisms. Accordingly, we have investigated augmentation of the reactivity of human platelets as a potential mechanism of bedaquiline-mediated cardiotoxicity. Platelet-rich plasma (PRP) or isolated cells prepared from the blood of healthy, adult humans were treated with bedaquiline (0.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThis study probed the differential utilization of P2Y1 and P2Y12 receptors in mobilizing CD62P (P-selectin) from intracellular granules following activation of human platelets with adenosine 5'-diphosphate (ADP, 100 µmol·L) Platelet-rich plasma (PRP) was prepared from the blood of adult humans. CD62P was measured by flow cytometry following activation of PRP with ADP in the absence and presence of the selective antagonists of P2Y1 and P2Y12 receptors, MRS2500 and PSB0739 (both 0.155-10 µmol·L), respectively.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFAlthough the inclusion of the cationic amphiphilic, anti-mycobacterial agent, clofazimine, in the chemotherapeutic regimens of patients with multidrug-resistant tuberculosis (TB) has contributed to improved outcomes, concerns remain about the cardiotoxic potential of this agent. Accordingly, the current study was undertaken with the primary objective of investigating the effects of clofazimine, on the reactivity of human platelets , a seemingly unexplored, mechanism of cardiotoxicity. Platelet-rich plasma (PRP) prepared from the blood of healthy, adult humans was treated with clofazimine (0.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPneumolysin (PLY), a member of the family of Gram-positive bacterial, cholesterol-dependent, β-barrel pore-forming cytolysins, is the major protein virulence factor of the dangerous respiratory pathogen, (pneumococcus). PLY plays a major role in the pathogenesis of community-acquired pneumonia (CAP), promoting colonization and invasion of the upper and lower respiratory tracts respectively, as well as extra-pulmonary dissemination of the pneumococcus. Notwithstanding its role in causing acute lung injury in severe CAP, PLY has also been implicated in the development of potentially fatal acute and delayed-onset cardiovascular events, which are now recognized as being fairly common complications of this condition.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFObjectives: Platelets orchestrate the inflammatory activities of neutrophils, possibly contributing to pulmonary and myocardial damage during severe pneumococcal infection. This study tested the hypothesis that the pneumococcal toxin, pneumolysin (Ply), activates production of platelet-activating factor (PAF) and thromboxane A (TxA) by neutrophils, these bioactive lipids being potential mediators of neutrophil:platelet (NP) networking.
Methods: The effects of recombinant Ply (10-80 ng mL) on the production of PAF and TxA by isolated neutrophils were measured using ELISA procedures, and NP aggregation by flow cytometry.
This study has explored the role of the pneumococcal toxin, pneumolysin (Ply), in activating human platelets. Following exposure to Ply (10-80 ng/ml), platelet activation and cytosolic Ca(2+) concentrations were measured flow cytometrically according to the level of expression of CD62P (P-selectin) and spectrofluorimetrically, respectively. Exposure to Ply resulted in marked upregulation of expression of platelet CD62P, achieving statistical significance at concentrations of 40 ng/ml and higher (P < 0.
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