Open Access

Alicia Veninga, Stefan Handtke, Konstanze Aurich, Bibian M. E. Tullemans, Sanne L. N. Brouns, Silas L. Schwarz, Floor C. J. I. Heubel-Moenen, Andreas Greinacher, Johan W. M. Heemskerk, Paola E. J. van der Meijden, Thomas Thiele

• Platelets within one individual display heterogeneity in reactivity, size, age, and expression of surface receptors. To investigate the combined intraindividual contribution of platelet size, platelet age, and receptor expression levels on the reactivity of platelets, we studied fractions of large and small platelets from healthy donors separated by using differential centrifugation. Size-separated platelet fractions were perfused over a collagen-coated surface to assess thrombus formation. Multicolor flow cytometry was used to characterize resting and stimulated platelet subpopulations, and platelet age was determined based on RNA and HLA-I labeling. Signal transduction was analyzed by measuring consecutive phosphorylation of serine/threonine-protein kinase Akt. Compared with small platelets, large platelets adhered faster to collagen under flow and formed larger thrombi. Among the large platelets, a highly reactive juvenile platelet subpopulation was identified with high glycoprotein VI (GPVI) expression. Elevated GPVI expression correlated with high HLA-I expression, RNA content, and increased platelet reactivity. There was a stronger difference in Akt phosphorylation and activation upon collagen stimulation between juvenile and older platelets than between large and small platelets. GPVI expression and platelet reactivity decreased throughout platelet storage at 22°C and was better maintained throughout cold storage at 4°C. We further detected higher GPVI expression in platelets of patients with immune thrombocytopenia. Our findings show that high GPVI expression is a feature of highly reactive juvenile platelets, which are predominantly found among the large platelet population, explaining the better performance of large platelets during thrombus formation. These data are important for studies of thrombus formation, platelet storage, and immune thrombocytopenia.