Open AccessHigh CD3+ Cells in Intracranial Thrombi Represent a Biomarker of Atherothrombotic Stroke
Author(s) -
Cyril Dargazanli,
Valérie Rigau,
Omer Eker,
Carlos Riquelme Bareiro,
Paolo Machi,
Grégory Gascou,
Caroline Arquizan,
Xavier Ayrignac,
Isabelle Mourand,
Astrid Corlobé,
Kyriakos Lobotesis,
Nicolas Molinari,
Valérie Costes,
Alain Bonafé,
Vincent Costalat
Publication year - 2016
Publication title -
plos one
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.99
H-Index - 332
ISSN - 1932-6203
DOI - 10.1371/journal.pone.0154945
Subject(s) - medicine , intracranial thrombosis , stroke (engine) , biomarker , thrombosis , fibrin , etiology , pathology , cardiology , venous thrombosis , immunology , mechanical engineering , biochemistry , engineering , chemistry
Background and Purpose Approximately 30% of strokes are cryptogenic despite an exhaustive in-hospital work-up. Analysis of clot composition following endovascular treatment could provide insight into stroke etiology. T-cells already have been shown to be a major component of vulnerable atherosclerotic carotid lesions. We therefore hypothesize that T-cell content in intracranial thrombi may also be a biomarker of atherothrombotic origin. Materials and Methods We histopathologically investigated 54 consecutive thrombi retrieved after mechanical thrombectomy in acute stroke patients. First, thrombi were classified as fibrin-dominant, erythrocyte-dominant or mixed pattern. We then performed quantitative analysis of CD3+ cells on immunohistochemically-stained thrombi and compared T-cell content between “atherothrombotic”, “cardioembolism” and “other causes” stroke subtypes. Results Fourteen (26%) thrombi were defined as fibrin-dominant, 15 (28%) as erythrocyte-dominant, 25 (46%) as mixed. The stroke cause was defined as “atherothrombotic” in 10 (18.5%), “cardioembolism” in 25 (46.3%), and “other causes” in 19 (35.2%). Number of T-cells was significantly higher in thrombi from the “atherothrombotic” group (53.60 ± 28.78) than in the other causes (21.77 ± 18.31; p<0.0005) or the “cardioembolism” group (20.08 ± 15.66; p<0.0003). Conclusions The CD3+ T-cell count in intracranial thrombi was significantly higher in “atherothrombotic” origin strokes compared to all other causes. Thrombi with high content of CD3+ cells are more likely to originate from an atherosclerotic plaque.