Leukocyte-versus microparticle-mediated tissue factor transfer during arteriolar thrombus development

Circulating tissue factor accumulates in the developing thrombus and contributes to fibrin clot formation. To determine whether tissue factor derived from hematopoietic cells is delivered to the thrombus via tissue factor-bearing microparticles or circulating leukocytes expressing tissue factor on the plasma membrane, we compared the kinetics of tissue factor accumulation in the developing arteriolar thrombus with the time course of leukocyte-thrombus interaction and microparticle-thrombus interaction in the microcirculation of a living mouse using intravital high-speed widefield and confocal microscopy. Tissue factor rapidly accumulated in the developing thrombus, appearing immediately following vessel wall injury, reaching a first peak in approximately 100 s. In contrast, leukocyte-thrombus interaction was not observed until after 2-3 min following vessel wall injury. Maximal leukocyte rolling and firm leukocyte adherence on thrombi in wild-type mice were observed after approximately 8 min and were dependent on P-selectin and P-selectin glycoprotein ligand-1. This delay in P-selectin-dependent leukocyte rolling is a result of time-dependent platelet activation and P-selectin expression on the luminal surface of the thrombus. In contrast, microparticle accumulation in the developing arteriolar thrombus was rapid, and peak accumulation was within 60 s. The accumulation of hematopoietic cell-derived tissue factor in the developing thrombus correlates to the kinetics of microparticle accumulation and does not correlate temporally with leukocyte-thrombus interaction. These results indicate that tissue factor derived from hematopoietic cells is delivered by microparticles during the initial phase of thrombus development in vivo.