Neutrophil Extracellular Traps: Potential Prothrombotic State Markers and Therapeutic Targets for Atrial Fibrillation.

Thromb Haemost

Department of Cardiology, Tianjin key laboratory of Ionic-Molecular Function of Cardiovascular Disease, Tianjin Institute of Cardiology, The Second Hospital of Tianjin Medical University, Tianjin, China.

Published: May 2024

AI Article Synopsis

  • The study investigates the role of neutrophil extracellular traps (NETs) in thrombogenesis among patients with atrial fibrillation (AF), highlighting their potential as risk markers for blood clot formation.
  • It includes a comparison of 125 AF patients to 172 controls, using advanced imaging techniques to examine the prothrombotic state and rat models to study the formation of NETs.
  • Results showed that elevated NET levels are linked to increased thrombosis risk and are influenced by inflammatory processes, suggesting potential therapeutic strategies for AF management.

Article Abstract

Background:  Recently, the mechanism of thrombogenesis has taken a new direction with the involvement of neutrophil extracellular traps (NETs). However, little is known about the relationship between NETs and thrombogenesis in atrial fibrillation (AF).

Objective:  Our study aimed to evaluate NETs in AF patients and their potential association with thrombogenesis. In addition, we studied the effect of NETs on thrombogenesis in rat models.

Methods:  A total of 125 AF patients and 172 controls were studied. Spontaneous echo contrast (SEC) was examined using transesophageal echocardiography to assess the prothrombotic state. We used rapid atrial pacing (RAP) rat models to study NETs' formation and their effects on thrombogenesis. The levels of NETs were analyzed by flow cytometry. To deeply understand the regulatory mechanism of NET formation, the transcriptional characteristics of the left atrial appendage (LAA) tissue from RAP rats were analyzed.

Results:  We found that NETs were increased significantly in AF patients and positively correlated with SEC grades. And inserting the NET level could significantly enhance the predictivity of CHADS-VASc scores for the AF prothrombotic state. In the RAP models, we observed that NET levels increased significantly in the LAA and promoted thrombosis. Meanwhile, we found that these changes could be suppressed by the NET formation inhibitor. Transcriptomic analysis of the LAA tissue from RAP rats suggested that RAP might stimulate the NET formation by promoting the expression of inflammatory cytokine and adhesion genes.

Conclusion:  NETs may constitute useful thrombogenesis risk markers in AF patients and provide a potential therapeutic strategy for AF management.

Download full-text PDF

Source
http://dx.doi.org/10.1055/s-0043-1774310DOI Listing

Publication Analysis

Top Keywords

prothrombotic state
12
net formation
12
neutrophil extracellular
8
extracellular traps
8
atrial fibrillation
8
nets thrombogenesis
8
laa tissue
8
tissue rap
8
rap rats
8
thrombogenesis
6

Similar Publications

Want AI Summaries of new PubMed Abstracts delivered to your In-box?

Enter search terms and have AI summaries delivered each week - change queries or unsubscribe any time!