RESUMO
OBJECTIVE: To investigate the role of alpha-granule membrane protein (CD62P), marker of plate activation, in the patients with coronary heart disease (CHD) and to investigate the relationship between the severity of coronary artery stenosis and platelet activation. METHODS: Peripheral blood samples were collected from 70 patients with CHD, including 28 cases of stable angina pectoris (SAP), 26 cases of unstable angina pectoris (UAP), and 16 cases of acute myocardial infarction (AMI), all of which underwent coronary arteriography, and 20 angiographically normal persons as no-CHD controls. The CD62P level was analyzed by flow cytometry (FCM). RESULTS: Coronary arteriography showed positivity in 70 of the 90 CHD patients. The CD62P positive rate of the UAP group was (28.3 +/- 20.1)%, significantly higher than those of the SAP group [(12.8 +/- 13.3)%] and no-CHD group [(9.9 +/- 6.4)%, both P < 0.05]. The CD62P positive rate of the double vessel disease group was (24.0 +/- 17.8)%, not significantly different from that of the three-vessel disease group [(22.6 +/- 20.4)%], but significantly higher than that of the single-vessel disease group [(11.1 +/- 8.5)%] and that of the no-CHD group [(9.9 +/- 6.4)%, both P < 0.05]. CONCLUSION: The platelet alpha-granule membrane protein CD62P level is higher in the UAP patients. It is related to the pathophysiological process of UAP and the severity of coronary artery stenosis.