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Semin Thromb Hemost 2005; 31(4): 449-457
DOI: 10.1055/s-2005-916680
Copyright © 2005 by Thieme Medical Publishers, Inc., 333 Seventh Avenue, New York, NY 10001, USA.

Adhesion, Spreading, and Aggregation of Platelets in Flowing Blood and the Reliability of the Retention Test Homburg

Boris Krischek1 , Eberhard Morgenstern2 , Pedres Mestres3 , Ute Klinkhardt4 , Werner Brannath5 , Ulrich Wieding6 , Amah Nemeh6 , Walter Heinrich6 , Jochen Schenk6 , Thomas Wenzel6 , Ernst Wenzel6
  • 1Professor, Department of Neurosurgery, Philipps University Marburg, Germany
  • 2Campus, University Hospital of Saarland, Germany
  • 3Institute of Anatomy, University Hospital of Saarland, Germany
  • 4Institute of Clinical Pharmacology, University Hospital Frankfurt/Main, Germany
  • 5Department of Medical Statistics, Medical University of Vienna, Austria
  • 6Working Party in Hemostasis and Department of Clinical Hemostaseology and Transfusion Medicine, University Hospital of Saarland, Germany
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Publication History

Publication Date:
07 September 2005 (online)

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ABSTRACT

Adhesion and aggregation are important parameters characterizing the function of intact platelets in flowing blood and in contact with a more or less thrombogenic surface. In the retention test Homburg (RTH), platelets are exposed to a standardized textured surface (Sysmex retention tubes) under defined conditions of flow. Platelet counts are performed before and after the Sysmex retention tube passage. The difference between these values indicates the percentage of retained platelets (retention index). Decreased retention in the RTH indicates a loss of function or defective platelet function; increase is associated with an increased activation of platelets, for example, in patients with vascular diseases. For further evaluation of the retention phenomenon the filters were fixed after cell passage and examined by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). SEM and TEM micrographs show activated platelets adhering and spreading on the filter surface, comparable with platelets on a disturbed endothelium.

Also, we examined the influence of different G forces and centrifugation times on the retention behavior of the platelets in citrated platelet-rich plasma (PRP) and whole blood (WB). G forces influenced the retention index in PRP and WB significantly and in a different way. Finally, we used a platelet standard, as customary in the quality check, to determine the serial as well as the day-to-day precision.

KEYWORDS

Platelet function measurement - platelet adhesion - platelet aggregation - shear stress - platelet-biomaterial interaction

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Boris KrischekM.D. 

Department of Neurosurgery, Philipps University Hospital

Baldingerstrasse, 35033 Marburg, Germany

Email: krischek@med.uni-marburg.de

Email: boris@krischek.de