An Assay of Measuring Platelet Reactivity Using Monoclonal Antibody against Activated Platelet Glycoprotein IIb/IIIa in Patients Taking Clopidogrel

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Residual platelet reactivity in patients who are taking clopidogrel is commonly measured with VerifyNow assay, which is based on the principle of light transmission aggregometry. However, to evaluate the residual platelet reactivity, it would be more accurate if the reactivity of platelet glycoprotein (GP) IIb/IIIa is directly monitored. In this study, PAC1, a monoclonal antibody against activated platelet GP IIb/IIIa, was used to measure the residual platelet reactivity. SUBJECTS AND METHODS: Twenty seven patients with coronary artery disease taking clopidogrel were enrolled. Platelets in whole blood were stained with fluorescein isothiocyanate (FITC)-conjugated PAC1. Mean fluorescence intensity (MFI) and % positive platelets (PP) were measured with flow cytometry, and the binding index (BI; MFI × %PP/100) was calculated. P2Y12 reaction unit (PRU) and % inhibition of VerifyNow assay were also measured in the usual manner. RESULTS: PRU of VerifyNow assay correlated significantly with MFI, %PP, and BI at 10 µM (r=0.59, 0.73, and 0.60, respectively, all p<0.005) and 20 µM of adenosine diphosphate (ADP; r=0.61, 0.75, and 0.63, respectively, all p<0.005). The % inhibition also correlated significantly with MFI, %PP, and BI at 10 µM (r=-0.60, -0.69, and -0.59, respectively, all p<0.005) and 20 µM of ADP (r=-0.63, -0.71, and -0.62, respectively, all p<0.005). CONCLUSION: Direct measurements of the reactivity of platelet GP IIb/IIIa were feasible using PAC1 and flow cytometry in patients taking clopidogrel. Further clinical studies are required to determine the cut-off values which would define high residual platelet reactivity in patients on this treatment protocol.