Summary
Extensive contact between blood and artificial surfaces causes platelet activation
and depletion. The aim of the present study was to test the efficacy of Ro 44-9883,
a potent and selective peptidomimetic GPIIb-IIIa antagonist, in preventing platelet
loss in guinea pigs undergoing extracorporeal circulation (ECC) with bubble oxygenation.
In 15 guinea pigs, an arterio-arterial shunt was created and perfused for 1 h from
the aortic arch to the descending aorta. The guinea pigs were divided into three groups:
A control group receiving only heparin as an i.v. bolus, a low dose-treated group
and a high dose-treated group receiving in addition to heparin and before starting
ECC, 1 or 7 mg/kg Ro 449883 as an i.v. bolus, respectively. In the control group,
the platelet count at 30 and 60 min of ECC was dramatically decreased (35 ± 4% and
25 ± 3% of initial value). In the low dose-treated group, Ro 44-9883 partially prevented
the drop in platelet count (69 ± 8% and 54 ± 9%; p <0.05) whereas in the high dose-treated
group, the platelet count was normal at 30 min (97 ± 8%) and only slightly decreased
at 60 min (80 ± 7%). Mean arterial pressure and hematocrit were not significantly
different between groups during the experiment. We conclude that i) ECC in guinea
pigs provides an interesting in-vivo model for studying platelet loss by contact activation
and ii) Ro 44-9883 prevents platelet loss during ECC in a dose dependent manner.