Platelet GPVI surface expression is enhanced following acute ischemic events like myocardial infarction and cerebral stroke, serves as an imminent diagnostic tool independent of markers of tissue necrosis, and is associated with poor prognosis.
In recent years, the central activating platelet collagen receptor, glycoprotein (GP) VI, has emerged as a promising antithrombotic target because its blockade or antibody-mediated depletion in circulating platelets was shown to effectively inhibit experimental thrombosis and thromboinflammatory disease states, such as stroke, without affecting hemostatic plug formation.
Large epidemiological studies should prove whether the platelet collagen receptor GPIa-IIa T807 allele is an independent risk factor for the development of stroke in younger patients.