Absence of bleeding upon dual antiplatelet therapy in a patient with a immune GPVI deficiency

Abstract

Acquired deficiencies in platelet glycoprotein VI are rare and have not been found associated with other defects. Here we report the case of a 64-year old male patient presenting an immune GPVI deficiency associated to a mutation in the alpha-actinin gene and who has been treated with dual anti platelet therapy without bleeding. Introduction: Glycoprotein (GP) VI, a pluripotent receptor interacting with collagen and fibrin(ogen) is responsible for thrombus formation, growth and stability (). It is co-expressed with the Fc receptor γ (FcRγ) chain (). GPVI is not critical for haemostasis since subjects with a GPVI deficiency usually present low or even no bleeding tendency (, ). Acquired GPVI deficiency due to antibody-induced GPVI depletion is the most frequent finding. At least 10 patients have been described with an acquired GPVI deficiency, most often associated to immune thrombocytopenia, moderate bleeding and impaired collagen-induced platelet aggregation (). Several mechanisms leading to the GPVI deficiency are proposed including antibody-triggered GPVI internalization and/or shedding of the extracellular domain (, ). We report the case of a patient presenting an acquired GPVI deficiency different from those previously described: (i) he is male whereas all previous cases were female, (ii) he is heterozygous for a mutation in α (alpha)-actinin-1 gene and (iii) he was treated with dual antiplatelet therapy with no haemorrhagic manifestation.

Keywords

• glycoprotein vi
• immune deficiency
• dual antiplatelet therapy