Platelet-bound SDF-1 may play an important role in peripheral homing of circulating progenitor cells thus in tissue regeneration.

It is becoming clear that stress proteins play a role in various aspects of postischemic myocardial recovery and that the cytoskeleton of cardiac myocytes is an important determinant for cellular survival during ischemia and energy depletion. In the present study, we addressed the question of whether the cytoskeleton-binding stress protein αB-crystallin may be involved in early cellular responses of rat and porcine myocardium to ischemia. Immunostaining and subcellular fractionation revealed a rapid ischemia-induced redistribution of αB-crystallin from a cytosolic pool to intercalated disks and Z lines of the myofibrils. This striking translocation of αB-crystallin from the cytosol to sites of the myofibrillar system that are known to be sensitive to ischemiareperfusion injury was accompanied by a rapid shift of a fraction of αB-crystallin to a more acidic isoelectric point. This shift is caused by αB-crystallin phosphorylation, as identified by its augmentation in the presence of phosphatase inhibitors (vanadate, fluoride) and comigration of the acidic αB-crystallin form with the phosphorylated B1 form of lenticular αB-crystallin. In view of the chaperone-like function of αB-crystallin in conjunction with its high level of constitutive expression in the myocardium (1–2% of soluble protein content), we consider αB-crystallin an excellent candidate to play a role in early aspects of the protection of the myocardial contractile apparatus against ischemia-reperfusion injury.

Background and Purpose-Platelet activation plays a crucial role in the pathophysiology of cerebral ischemia. The aim of this study was to investigate the contribution of platelet activation and leukocyte-platelet interactions to the disease. Methods-One hundred thirty-five patients with transient ischemic attack (TIA) or stroke were enrolled in this single-center study. They underwent cranial computer tomography within 24 hours of clinical onset and after 3 months, and systemic venous blood samples were drawn. Platelet activation (CD62P expression), leukocyte activation (L-selectin expression), and the appearance of platelet-specific antigens on leukocytes as an index of platelet-leukocyte aggregation were measured by flow cytometric techniques in the acute state and at 3-month follow-up. Results-Patients with a completed stroke or TIA had significantly increased circulating platelet-leukocyte aggregates, increased P-selectin expression on platelets, and decreased L-selectin expression in the acute state compared with the control group (healthy volunteers). No differences in regard to the tested activation markers could be detected between patients with stroke or TIA in the acute phase of the disease. However, platelet and leukocyte activations were normalized after 3 months in patients with TIA, whereas leukocyte activation (reduced L-selectin expression) remained in stroke patients. Conclusions-In patients with TIA and completed stroke, platelet and leukocyte activation is substantially enhanced in the acute phase of the disease. The sustained leukocyte activation observed in stroke but not in TIA patients at 3-month follow up might play a pathophysiological role in the course of the disease.