Urosepsis is a potentially life-threatening, systemic reaction to uropathogenic bacteria entering the bloodstream of the host. One of the hallmarks of sepsis is early thrombocyte activation with a following fall in circulating thrombocytes as a result of intravascular aggregation and sequestering of thrombocytes in the major organs. Development of a thrombocytopenic state is associated with a poorer outcome of sepsis. Uropathogenic Escherichia coli frequently produce the pore-forming, virulence factor α-haemolysin (HlyA), of which the biological effects are mediated by ATP release and subsequent activation of P2 receptors. Thus, we speculated that inhibition of thrombocyte P2Y1 and P2Y12 receptors might ameliorate the septic response to HlyA-producing E. coli. The study combined in vitro measurements of toxin-induced thrombocyte activation assessed as increased membrane abundance of P-selectin, fibronectin and CD63 and data from in vivo murine model of sepsis-induced by HlyA-producing E. coli under infusion of P2Y1 and P2Y12 antagonists. Our data show that the P2Y1 receptor antagonist almost abolishes thrombocyte activation by pore-forming bacterial toxins. Inhibition of P2Y1, by constant infusion of MRS2500, markedly increased the survival in mice with induced sepsis. Moreover, MRS2500 partially prevented the sepsis-induced depletion of circulating thrombocytes and dampened the sepsis-associated increase in proinflammatory cytokines. In contrast, P2Y12 receptor inhibition had only a marginal effect in vivo and in vitro. Taken together, inhibition of the P2Y1 receptor gives a subtle dampening of the thrombocyte activation and the cytokine response to bacteraemia, which may explain the improved survival observed by P2Y1 receptor antagonists.
Keywords: Escherichia coli; HlyA; P2Y1; P2Y12; sepsis; thrombocytes.