Direct evaluation of antiplatelet therapy in coronary artery disease by comprehensive image-based profiling of circulating platelets
Coronary artery disease (CAD) is a leading cause of death globally. Antiplatelet therapy remains crucial in preventing and treating CAD-associated thrombotic complications, but it concurrently amplifies the risk of bleeding. Unfortunately, traditional platelet function measurement methods cannot directly evaluate its efficacy and safety. Here we demonstrate comprehensive image-based profiling of circulating platelets to directly observe thrombotic conditions and assess antiplatelet therapy in CAD patients. Deep learning-based analysis of whole blood samples from 207 CAD patients revealed elevated concentrations of circulating platelet aggregates, especially in acute versus chronic coronary syndrome patients. It also indicated a regimen-dependent reduction in these concentrations upon treatment with antiplatelet drugs, thereby verifying the direct efficacy of the therapy. Notably, consistent concentrations of these aggregates were found in both venous and arterial blood, suggesting venous blood as a reliable therapy efficacy indicator, despite CAD's arterial nature. These findings support personalized and improved antiplatelet therapy in CAD management.
Authors
- Norihiko Takeda (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1023-6116)
- Keisuke Goda (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6302-6038)
- Yunjie Deng (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4118-9068)
- Norifumi Takeda (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4818-3347)
- Junichi Ishida (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9703-9419)
- Yuma Ibayashi
- Masako Nishikawa (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3840-767X)
- Ruoxi Yang
- Nao Nitta (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9093-9016)
- Junyu Chen
- Yuqi Zhou (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1206-0049)
- Kazutoshi Hirose (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7084-9830)
- Cheng Kong (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3698-991X)
- Hongqian Zhang
- Yutaka Yatomi (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1719-4297)
- Satoshi Kodera (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2908-6875)
- Hiroshi Kanno (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3340-9462)
- Makoto Kurano (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2596-1145)
- Masataka Sato
- Chenqi Zhang (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3241-821X)
- Huidong Wang (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0000-5974-3747)
- Takeaki Sugimura (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3744-2799)
- Shun Minatsuki (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1997-9269)
- Jun Akita (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0000-0185-1796)
Institutions
- Tokyo University of Science (JP)
- University of California, Los Angeles (US)
- Tohoku University (JP)
- CYBO (Japan) (JP)
- Hubei University of Technology (CN)
- The University of Tokyo (JP)
- International University of Health and Welfare (JP)
Publication Details
- Journal
- Nature Communications
- Published
- 2025-05-15
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-025-59664-8
- Citations
- 5
- Primary Topic
- Coronary Interventions and Diagnostics
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 10.03
Funders
- Japan Agency for Medical Research and Development
- Nakatani Foundation for Advancement of Measuring Technologies in Biomedical Engineering
- Japan Society for the Promotion of Science