Researchers at the Augsburg University Medical Center have identified a subgroup of particularly active platelets that can cause heart attacks in patients with coronary artery disease (CHD) despite drug therapy. The discovery opens up perspectives for tailor-made therapies. The results were presented on August 31, 2025 at the ESC Congress in Madrid and appear in the journal European Heart Journal.

Coronary heart disease, the most common heart disease worldwide, is caused by narrowing of the coronary arteries that restrict the oxygen supply to the heart. This can lead to chest pain, heart attacks, or sudden cardiac death. Despite modern drugs, heart attacks remain a problem. A research team from Augsburg, Munich and Milan has now investigated so-called reticulated platelets – young, RNA-rich and highly reactive platelets that play a central role in the formation of blood clots.

Through a multidimensional blood analysis of over 90 patients with CHD, the researchers were able to comprehensively describe the biological mechanisms of these platelets for the first time. These have numerous activating signaling pathways that make them more sensitive and responsive than mature platelets. Two targets, GPVI and PI3K, were identified whose inhibition was able to reduce platelet overactivity in laboratory experiments. These findings lay the foundation for personalized therapeutic approaches that are specifically tailored to the individual properties of the platelets.

The study, led by Prof. Dr. Dario Bongiovanni, Professor at the Faculty of Medicine and Head of the Study Center of the I. Medical Clinic at Augsburg University Hospital, marks an important step towards improving the treatment of CHD patients.

Original Paper:

Reticulated platelets in coronary artery disease: a multidimensional approach unveils prothrombotic signalling and novel therapeutic targets | European Heart Journal | Oxford Academic

Editor: X-Press Journalistenbüro GbR

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