Platelet glycoprotein Ibα is an important mediator of ischemic stroke in mice.

Background: Platelets play an important role in ischemic stroke. GPIbα is a major platelet receptor that is critical for platelet adhesion to exposed subendothelial matrix components at sites of vascular damage.

Methods: In this study, we used transgenic mice in which the extracellular part of GPIbα is replaced by human interleukin 4-receptor (GPIbα/IL4Rα). We observed normal brain vasculature in these mice. We compared infarct size in GPIbα/IL4Rα and wild-type (WT) mice 23 hours after 1-hour transient middle cerebral artery occlusion (tMCAO). In addition, the functional outcome was evaluated using a modified Bederson score.

Results: We found a significantly smaller infarct size in GPIbα/IL4Rα mice compared to WT mice (38.0 ± 6.5 mm3 vs. 74.2 ± 8.6 mm3, p < 0.001). The decrease in infarct size was functionally relevant as indicated by a significantly better functional Bederson score in GPIbα/IL4Rα mice compared to WT animals (1.3 ± 0.4 vs. 2.7 ± 0.3, p < 0.05).

Conclusions: Our data illustrate and further confirm the important role of platelet GPIbα in ischemic stroke, suggesting that targeted inhibition of this receptor may open new avenues in stroke treatment.