Platelets are Hyperactivated but Show Reduced Glycoprotein VI Reactivity in COVID-19 Patients
Valentine Léopold, Э. В. Переверзева, Alex R. Schuurman, Tom D. Y. Reijnders, Anno Saris, Justin de Brabander, Christine C. A. van Linge, Renée A. Douma, Osoul Chouchane, Rienk Nieuwland, W. Joost Wiersinga, Cornelis van ′t Veer, Tom van der Poll
Abstract
Coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2), has rapidly spread worldwide since December 2019. Disease severity is strongly associated with abnormal routine coagulation tests (particularly increased D-dimer levels) and thrombocytopenia.[1] These alterations are accompanied by a high prevalence of deep venous thrombosis, pulmonary embolism, and arterial thrombotic events at uncommon sites.[2] Platelets are at the crossroad of thrombosis and immunity and contribute to thrombus formation and disease severity during bacterial sepsis[3] [4] and viral infections.[5] [6] We here investigated platelet activation and responsiveness to relevant stimuli in hospitalized COVID-19 patients.