Effect of a synthetic peptide corresponding to residues 313 to 320 of the alphaIIb subunit of the human platelet integrin alphaIIbbeta3 on carotid artery thrombosis in rabbits.

The platelet integrin receptor alpha(IIb)beta(3) plays a critical role in thrombosis. We have shown previously that the octapeptide YMESRADR, corresponding to sequences 313 to 320 of the human alpha(IIb) subunit, inhibits human platelet activation and fibrinogen binding to alpha(IIb)beta(3), possibly interacting with the ligand. We investigated the effect of YMESRADR on electrically induced carotid artery thrombosis in New Zealand white rabbits. Peptide was administered via the femoral vein, starting 60 min before and continuing for 90 min after the electrical stimulation. Carotid blood flow was monitored for 90 min after the electrical stimulation. The peptide effects on platelet aggregation, in vitro and ex vivo, and on various coagulation, bleeding, and hemostatic parameters were evaluated. YMESRADR significantly inhibited rabbit platelet aggregation in vitro in a dose-dependent manner. It is important that peptide administration in vivo, at doses ranging from 3 to 15 mg/kg, prolonged the duration of the patency of the carotid artery, and no artery occlusion was observed until the end of the study (90 min after electrical stimulation). Furthermore, YMESRADR administration reduced platelet aggregation ex vivo and thrombus weight; however, these reductions reached statistical significance, compared with the control group, at the peptide doses of 12 and 15 mg/kg. YMESRADR did not affect any coagulation parameter studied and the hemostatic response observed in control animals. Thus, YMESRADR represents a novel antiplatelet agent that can inhibit thrombus formation effectively and carotid artery occlusion without causing hemorrhagic complications in a rabbit model of arterial thrombosis.

Structure-activity relationships of alphaIIb 313-320 derived peptide inhibitors of human platelet aggregation.

The alphaIIbbeta3 receptor, which is the most abundant receptor on the surface of platelets, can interact with a variety of adhesive proteins including fibrinogen, fibronectin and the von Willebrand factor. Fibrinogen binding on alphaIIbbeta3 is an event essential for platelet aggregation and thrombus formation. Mapping of the fibrinogen-binding domains on alphaIIb subunit suggested the sequence 313-332 as a possible binding site. This region was restricted to sequence alphaIIb 313-320 (Y313MESRADR320) using synthetic octapeptides overlapping by six residues. The YMESRADR octapeptide inhibits ADP-stimulated human platelets aggregation and binds to immobilized fibrinogen. In this study, we used the Ala scanning methodology within the sequence 313-320 aiming to evaluate the contribution of each amino acid in inhibiting platelet aggregation. It was found that the substitution of Y313, M314, E315 or S316 by A does not affect the activity of the parent octapeptide. The-RADR-motif seems to be the most essential for the biological activity of the alphaIIb 313-320 site. The conformational analysis of the YAESRADR, YMESAADR and YMESRAAR analogs by using NMR spectroscopy and distance geometry calculations revealed significant differences in their conformational states in DMSO-d6.