Background
Enhanced platelet activation has been implicated in several pathophysiological processes. Here, we evaluated the biological reproducibility of circulating P-Selectin, Thrombomodulin (TM), Thrombopoietin (TPO), and Glycoprotein IIb/IIIa (GPIIb/IIIa) to assess whether these analytes can be used as reliable biomarkers of platelet activation in epidemiological studies.
Conclusions
Our findings suggest that a single assessment of P-Selectin, TM, TPO and GPIIb/IIIa at baseline in prospective epidemiological studies is appropriate to investigate associations between platelet activation and risks of chronic diseases.
Methods
We measured circulating P-Selectin, TM, TPO and GPIIb/IIIa by immunoassays in two blood samples of 78 participants of the EPIC Heidelberg study (47-80years, 50% female) that were collected one year apart. Biological reproducibility of biomarker levels over time and associations with routine biochemistry parameters were assessed by Spearman's correlation coefficients.
Results
Statistical analyses revealed good reproducibility over one year for two of the analyzed markers, with Spearman coefficients of ρ=0.80 (P-Selectin) and ρ=0.73 (TPO) and reasonable reproducibility for TM (ρ=0.63) and GPIIb/IIIa (ρ=0.51). Levels of P-Selectin, TM, TPO and GPIIb/IIIa were not significantly associated with routine biochemistry parameters, such as glucose, HbA1c, LDL, HDL, Triglycerides and CRP. Conclusions: Our findings suggest that a single assessment of P-Selectin, TM, TPO and GPIIb/IIIa at baseline in prospective epidemiological studies is appropriate to investigate associations between platelet activation and risks of chronic diseases.