A place for ultrastructural analysis of platelets in cerebral ischemic research

Abstract

It is well known that estrogen is neuroprotective through various mechanisms which suggest that sex hormone levels, thrombotic mechanisms, and inflammatory processes are strongly interconnected in predicting the outcome and consequences of cerebral ischemia. Because platelet ultrastructure is altered in conditions like thrombosis and associated with stroke, the question arises whether ultrastructural analyses of platelet morphology may provide further insight into the role of estrogen during ischemic insult. In the current study, a hyperglycemic modification to the two-vessel occlusion model for inducing experimental cerebral ischemia was employed, in order to correlate neural tissue integrity levels between three experimental groups to corresponding platelet ultrastructure so as to determine whether there is an association between cerebral ischemia and the presence of inflammatory or necrotic platelet ultrastructure. It is apparent in the results that under the influence of estrogen in cyclic or intact females, there is lesser neural tissue damage as well as a reduced degree of inflammation evident in platelet activation morphology when compared to males and acyclic or ovariectomized females. It is unmistakable that neural injury is closely shadowed, if not preceded, by inflammatory changes in the coagulation system, particularly manifested in platelet ultrastructure. It is therefore suggested that platelets may indeed be used successfully to follow the progression of events of cerebral ischemia and possibly assist in the assessment of treatment strategies and their effects on hemostasis.

Keywords: estrogen; inflammation; stroke; thrombosis.