Antiplatelet activity of green tea catechins is mediated by inhibition of cytoplasmic calcium increase

We have previously reported that green tea catechins (GTC) display a potent antithrombotic activity, which might be due to antiplatelet rather than anticoagulation effects. In the current study, we investigated the antiplatelet mechanism of GTC. We tested the effects of GTC on the aggregation of human platelets and on the binding of fluorescein isothiocyanate-conjugated fibrinogen to human platelet glycoprotein (GP) IIb/IIIa. GTC inhibited the collagen-, thrombin-, adenosine diphosphate (ADP)-, and calcium ionophore A23187-induced aggregation of washed human platelets, with 50% inhibitory concentration values of 0.64, 0.52, 0.63, and 0.45 mg/ml, respectively. GTC significantly inhibited fibrinogen binding to human platelet surface GPIIb/IIIa complex but failed to inhibit binding to purified GPIIb/IIIa complex. These results indicate that the antiplatelet activity of GTC may be due to inhibition of an intracellular pathway preceding GPIIb/IIIa complex exposure. We also investigated the effects of GTC on intracellular calcium levels, which are critical in determining the activation status of platelets and on induction of platelet aggregation by thapsigargin, which is a selective inhibitor of the Ca²⁺-ATPase pump. Pretreatment of human platelets with GTC significantly inhibited the rise in intracellular Ca²⁺ concentration induced by thrombin treatment, and GTC significantly inhibited the thapsigargin-induced platelet aggregation. We also examined the effect of GTC on the second messenger, inositol 1,4,5-triphosphate (IP₃). GTC significantly inhibited the phosphoinositide breakdown induced by thrombin. Taken together, these observations suggest that the antiplatelet activity of GTC is be mediated by inhibition of cytoplasmic calcium increase, which leads to the inhibition of fibrinogen-GPIIb/IIIa binding via the activation of Ca²⁺-ATPase and inhibition of IP₃ formation.