Increased Platelet-Monocyte Interaction in Stable COPD in the Absence of Platelet Hyper-Reactivity

Item does not contain fulltex

Supplementary Material for: Increased Platelet-Monocyte Interaction in Stable COPD in the Absence of Platelet Hyper-Reactivity

<p><b><i>Background:</i></b> Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is well known for its cardiovascular co-morbidities. Increased platelet-monocyte interaction is found in COPD and may reflect altered platelet function and a potential role for anti-platelet therapy. <b><i>Objectives:</i></b> The objectives were to investigate platelet-monocyte interaction, platelet activation and reactivity and plasmatic coagulation in stable COPD. <b><i>Methods:</i></b> Platelet-monocyte interaction and platelet activation were determined by flow cytometry in 30 stable COPD patients and 25 controls. Platelet activation was measured by binding of fibrinogen to the activated fibrinogen receptor and platelet P-selectin expression at baseline and after platelet stimulation with platelet agonists. Plasmatic coagulation was measured by D-dimer and thrombin generation. <b><i>Results:</i></b> Platelet-monocyte interaction was increased in stable COPD (median fluorescence intensity of platelet CD61 was 19.8 [IQR 14.0-33.2] vs. 10.0 [IQR 8.7-16.7], <i>p</i> = 0.002). In contrast, platelet activation and reactivity, reflected by fibrinogen binding and P-selectin expression, were the same in both groups. Plasma P-selectin and interleukin-6 were increased in COPD (<i>p</i> = 0.01 and <i>p</i> = 0.02, respectively), whereas soluble fibrinogen, D-dimer and thrombin generation were similar. <b><i>Conclusions:</i></b> Increased platelet-monocyte interaction was found in the absence of platelet hyper-reactivity and activation of plasmatic coagulation in stable COPD. Future clinical evaluation of the effects of different anti-platelet drugs in COPD is warranted, as anti-platelet therapy may interfere with platelet-monocyte interaction.</p

Sedimentology of the Lower Ordovician (upper Tremadocian) Bjørkåsholmen Formation at Flagabro, southern Sweden

The Lower Ordovician Bjørkåsholmen Formation at Flagabro, Scania, southern Sweden, consists of a 0.8 m thick succession of carbonates with three siliciclastic mudstones, 5, 1 and 100 mm thick, intercalated in the central part of the unit. Carbonate and siliciclastic mudstone beds show both normal and inverse grading. The carbonates are mud-rich and subdivided into a mudstone, a wackestone and a packstone facies. Grain types in the carbonates are mostly shells and shell fragments of brachiopods and trilobites. The carbonate rocks are strongly bioturbated seen as in roundish burrows filled with mud and a clear cement; additionally, bioturbation is reflected in the random orientation of shells. The siliciclastic mudstones are subdivided into two facies; one contains large amounts of shells and is in part grain-supported, the other is matrix-dominated and laminated to massive. The succession reflects sedimentation on a low-inclined shelf equivalent to a mid-ramp to basinal setting. Most mud- and wackestones (facies 3 and 4) represent fair-weather sedimentation, and the intercalated wacke- and packstones (facies 4 and 5) represent concentration of shell debris during high-energy storm. The siliciclastic mudstones in the central part of the succession reflect deposition in a basinal setting. The entire Bjørkåsholmen Formation at Flagabro is equivalent to a lowstand of third (?) order without a well-developed internal cyclicity and is in that respect similar to the Bjørkåsholmen Formation of Öland, but different from the age-equivalent Norwegian sections