Glycoprotein VI (GPVI) is a key platelet receptor which mediates plaque-induced platelet activation and consecutive atherothrombosis, but GPVI is also involved in platelet-mediated atheroprogression. Therefore, interference in GPVI-mediated platelet activation has the potential to combine short-term and long-term beneficial effects, specificity and safety especially regarding bleeding complications.

We investigated the effects of the soluble dimeric GPVI receptor fusion protein, Revacept, an antagonist of collagen-mediated platelet activation, in an animal model of atherosclerosis: twenty week old rabbits, which had been fed on a cholesterol-rich diet for 8 weeks, received Revacept (8 mg/kg) or control twice weekly for 4 weeks. Pharmacokinetics indicated a slight accumulation of the drug in the serum after repeated dosing of Revacept for 3 weeks. A significant improvement of endothelial dysfunction after 0.06 and 0.6 µg/min acetylcholine and a significant decrease of vessel wall thickening were found after Revacept treatment. Accordingly, aortic vessel weight was reduced, and plaque sizes, macrophage and T-cell invasion tended to be reduced in histological evaluations. Bleeding time was determined after tail clipping in mice. Revacept alone or in combination with widely used anti-platelet drugs revealed a high safety margin with no prolongation of bleeding times.

Repeated doses of Revacept led to a significant improvement of endothelial dysfunction and vascular morphology in atherosclerotic rabbits. Furthermore, no influence of Revacept on bleeding time alone or in combinations with various anti-platelet drugs was found in mice. Thus, the inhibition of collagen-mediated platelet interaction with the atherosclerotic endothelium by Revacept exerts beneficial effects on morphology and vascular function in vivo and seems to have a wide therapeutic window without influencing the bleeding time.