ABSTRACT
UNLABELLED: ESSENTIALS: Neutrophil elastase (NE) plays a role in extracellular trap formation (NETosis) triggered by microbes. The contribution of NE was evaluated in mouse NETosis models of sterile inflammation and thrombosis. NE is not required for mouse neutrophil NET production in vitro with non-infectious stimuli. NE deficiency had no significant effect on thrombosis in the inferior vena cava stenosis model. BACKGROUND: Neutrophil serine proteases have been implicated in coagulation and neutrophil extracellular trap (NET) formation. In human neutrophils, neutrophil elastase (NE) translocates to the nucleus during NETosis and cleaves histones, thus aiding in chromatin decondensation. NE(-/-) mice were shown not to release NETs in response to microbes. However, mouse studies evaluating the role of NE in NET formation in sterile inflammation and thrombosis are lacking. OBJECTIVE: We wished to establish if neutrophils from NE(-/-) mice have a defect in NETosis, similar to peptidylarginine deiminase 4 (PAD4(-/-)) mice, and how this might have an impact on venous thrombosis, a model where NETs are produced and are crucial to thrombus development. METHODS: We performed in vitro NET assays using neutrophils from wild-type (WT), NE(-/-), SerpinB1 (SB1)(-/-) and NE(-/-) SB1(-/-) mice. We compared WT and NE(-/-) animals using the inferior vena cava stenosis model of deep vein thrombosis (DVT). RESULTS: Neutrophil elastase deficiency resulted in a small reduction in ionomycin-induced NET formation in vitro without affecting histone citrullination. However, NET production in response to phorbol 12-myristate 13-acetate or platelet activating factor was normal in neutrophils from two independent NE-deficient mouse lines, and in NE(-/-) SB1(-/-) as compared with SB1(-/-) neutrophils. NE deficiency or inhibition did not prevent NETosis in vivo or DVT outcome. CONCLUSIONS: Neutrophil elastase is not required for NET formation in mice. NE(-/-) mice, which form pathological venous thrombi containing NETs, do not phenocopy PAD4(-/-) mice in in vitro NETosis assays or experimental venous thrombosis. Our study suggests that NET-targeted therapies need to be highly effective to have an impact on DVT.
Subject(s)
Extracellular Traps/metabolism , Leukocyte Elastase/deficiency , Neutrophils/enzymology , Venous Thrombosis/enzymology , Animals , Cells, Cultured , Disease Models, Animal , Genotype , Ionomycin/pharmacology , Leukocyte Elastase/genetics , Mice, Inbred C57BL , Mice, Knockout , Neutrophil Activation , Neutrophils/drug effects , Phenotype , Tetradecanoylphorbol Acetate/pharmacology , Venous Thrombosis/blood , Venous Thrombosis/geneticsABSTRACT
BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVES: We examined the applicability of contrast-enhanced ultrasound (CEUS) for imaging of murine deep vein thrombosis (DVT) and measured the effects of enoxaparin, ticagrelor and P2Y(12) receptor deficiency in vivo. METHODS: Deep vein thrombosis was induced by exposure to ferric chloride or ligation of the infrarenal vena cava of C57BL/6 mice after pretreatment with enoxaparin, ticagrelor or vehicle and in P2Y(12-/-) mice. Initial thrombus growth was visualized by intravital microscopy. Thrombi were weighed and examined by immunohistochemistry. CEUS was performed with a standard ultrasound system (Vivid 7, GE Healthcare) in the open abdominal cavity after injection of stabilized sulphur hexafluoride microbubbles. RESULTS: Incubation with ferric chloride resulted in non-occluding platelet-containing thrombus growth within 15-25 min. Sham-operated mice, enoxaparin- and ticagrelor-pretreated wild-type and P2Y(12-/-) mice developed only small thrombi. After injection of the contrast agent, growing thrombi were delineated clearly as negative contrast on CEUS. Thrombus size on CEUS after 25 min was significantly smaller in enoxaparin- (0.3 ± 0.1 mm(2)) and ticagrelor-treated (0.5 ± 0.1 mm(2)) wild-type and in P2Y(12-/-) mice (0.4 ± 0.1 mm(2)) as compared with vehicle-treated wild-type mice (2.0 ± 0.3 mm(2)) in the maximal sagittal plane (P < 0.001, n = 5-10). CEUS-derived thrombus size correlated linearly with thrombus weight and also reflected the extent of ligation-induced DVT. CONCLUSIONS: Contrast-enhanced ultrasound allowed the real-time quantification of DVT in living mice. Genetic and pharmacologic antithrombotic interventions were well reflected by CEUS and suggested an important role of the platelet P2Y(12) receptor in early DVT formation.