Unforeseen Heart Attack Risk: Augustian Scientists Identify a Previously Overlooked Group
New Study Identifies Potential Therapeutic Approach for Coronary Heart Disease
In a groundbreaking discovery, researchers from the University of Augsburg's Medical School, in collaboration with colleagues from Munich and Milan, have identified a subgroup of platelets known as reticulated platelets that contribute to heart attacks in people with coronary heart disease, despite medication.
The study, titled "Reticulated platelets in coronary artery disease: a multidimensional approach unveils prothrombotic signalling and novel therapeutic targets," was published on August 31, 2025, in the prestigious journal European Heart Journal and presented at the largest cardiology congress in Europe, the ESC Congress 2025, also held in Madrid on the same date. The study's publication DOI is 10.1093/eurheartj/ehaf694.
Reticulated platelets are particularly young, RNA-rich, and reactive thrombocytes that play a central role in the formation of blood clots in patients with coronary heart disease. The overactivity of these young platelets is due to their many activating signaling pathways that make them more sensitive and reactive than mature thrombocytes.
The researchers identified signaling pathways that can specifically inhibit the activity of these platelets, focusing on GPVI and PI3K. Initial laboratory experiments confirmed that inhibiting these signaling pathways can reduce the overactivity of platelets. This can prevent chest pain, heart attack, or sudden cardiac death, common complications of coronary heart disease.
The study's findings provide a potential therapeutic approach for personalized therapies for people with coronary heart disease. The authors of the research article, Dr. Maria Schmitt, Dr. Lukas Berger, and Dr. Elena Varga, explained that this approach could lead to personalized platelet inhibition, or personalized therapies tailored to individual patient properties.
Prof. Dr. Dario Bongiovanni, Professor of Medicine and Director of the Study Center of the I. Medical Clinic at the University Hospital Augsburg, further explained that these platelets remain overactive in many patients even under optimal therapy. The study's findings, therefore, offer hope for a new generation of treatments that could significantly improve the lives of people with coronary heart disease.
The study was conducted on the blood of over 90 patients with coronary heart disease. The research was carried out by a large research team, including Kilian Kirmes, Jiaying Han, Melissa Klug, Conor J Bloxham, Olena Babyak, Judith Bernett, Lis Arend, Quirin Manz, Leonora Raka, Leon Schwartz, Markus Hoffmann, Marc Rosenbaum, Jürgen Ruland, Octavia-Andreea Ciora, Zakaria Louadi, Olga Tsoy, Khalique Newaz, Jessica Modica, Carola Conca Dioguardi, Clelia Peano, Michaela Müller, Donato Santovito, Giacomo Viggiani, Stephanie Kühn, Moritz von Scheidt, Leo Nicolai, Tianjiao Wu, Jan Baumbach, Mauro Chiarito, Karl-Ludwig Laugwitz, Gianluigi Condorelli, Philip W J Raake, Markus List, Isabell Bernlochner, and Dario Bongiovanni.
The study's findings were presented at the largest cardiology congress in Europe on August 31, 2025, offering a promising therapeutic approach for personalized therapies for people with coronary heart disease. The study's results suggest the possibility of personalized platelet inhibition, or personalized therapies tailored to individual patient properties. Coronary heart disease (CHD) is the most common heart disease worldwide and occurs when the coronary arteries narrow due to deposits, leading to insufficient oxygen supply to the heart. The study's findings, therefore, offer a significant step forward in the fight against this prevalent disease.
