Summary
Glycoprotein VI (GPVI), a membrane glycoprotein solely expressed in platelets and
megakaryocytes, plays a critical role in thrombus formation due to collagen/GPVI-mediated
platelet activation and adhesion. Recent studies have shown that surface expression
of GPVI on circulating platelets is enhanced in acute cardiovascular diseases such
as myocardial infarction and ischaemic stroke. Increased GPVI levels are associated
with poor clinical outcome and are an early indicator for imminent myocardial infarction
in patients with chest pain. The soluble form of the dimeric GPVI fusion protein (sGPVI-Fc)
binds with high affinity to collagen and atherosclerotic plaque tissue. Non-invasive
imaging studies with radiolabelled sGPVI-Fc show specific binding activity to vascular
lesions in vivo. Further, sGPVI-Fc has been developed as a new therapeutic platelet-based strategy
for lesion-directed antithrombotic therapy. This review summarises the potential of
GPVI for diagnostic and therapeutic options based on novel non-invasive molecular
imaging modalities to ameliorate care of patients with cardiovascular diseases.
Keywords
Platelets - glycoprotein VI - biomarker - myocardial infarction - stroke - molecular
imaging