Publication Date:
2006-11-16
Description:
Fibrinogen (Fg) has been considered essential for platelet aggregation. We demonstrated, however, that thrombi do form in Fg-deficient mice and in mice doubly deficient for both fibrinogen and von Willebrand factor (Fg/VWF−/−). We further reported that β3 integrin and thrombin are critical for this Fg/VWF-independent platelet aggregation. In Fg−/− or Fg/VWF−/− mice, platelet fibronectin (Fn) content is increased 3–5 fold. Furthermore, thrombus growth and stability are impaired in plasma Fn conditional deficient (M×-Cre, Fnflox/flox) mice. These data are consistent with the most recent studies of Fn assembly and suggest that Fn may support platelet thrombus formation. To examine whether Fn is the alternative key molecule which mediates platelet aggregation and thrombus formation in Fg/VWF−/− mice, we developed a novel strain of triple knockout (TKO) mice by breeding Fg/VWF−/− mice with M×-Cre+/− Fnflox/flox conditional knockout mice. Cre- littermates delivered from the same parents were used as a control. Fn depletion was induced by i.p. injections of polyinonic-polycytidylic acid. We found that TKO mice are viable with dramatically decreased levels of Fn in both the plasma (
Print ISSN:
0006-4971
Electronic ISSN:
1528-0020
Topics:
Biology
,
Medicine