Physical proximity and functional cooperation of glycoprotein 130 and glycoprotein VI in platelet membrane lipid rafts

Objective: Clinical and laboratory studies have demonstrated that platelets become hyperactive and prothrombotic in conditions of inflammation. We have previously shown that the proinflammatory cytokine interleukin (IL)-6 forms a complex with soluble IL-6 receptor α (sIL-6Rα) to prime platelets for activation by subthreshold concentrations of collagen. Upon being stimulated with collagen, the transcription factor signal transducer and activator of transcription (STAT) 3 in platelets is phosphorylated and dimerized to act as a protein scaffold to facilitate the catalytic action between the kinase Syk and the substrate Phospholipase Cγ2 (PLCγ2) in collagen-induced signaling. However, it remains unknown how collagen induces phosphorylation and dimerization of STAT3.

Methods and results: We conducted complementary in vitro experiments to show that the IL-6 receptor subunit glycoprotein 130 (GP130) was in physical proximity to the collagen receptor Glycoprotein VI (GPVI in membrane lipid rafts of platelets. This proximity allows collagen to induce STAT3 activation and dimerization, and the IL-6-sIL-6Rα complex to activate the kinase Syk and the substrate PLCγ2 in the GPVI signal pathway, resulting in an enhanced platelet response to collagen. Disrupting lipid rafts or blocking GP130-Janus tyrosine kinase (JAK)-STAT3 signaling abolished the cross-activation and reduced platelet reactivity to collagen.

Conclusion: These results demonstrate cross-talk between collagen and IL-6 signal pathways. This cross-talk could potentially provide a novel mechanism for inflammation-induced platelet hyperactivity, so the IL-6-GP130-JAK-STAT3 pathway has been identified as a potential target to block this hyperactivity.

STAT3 transcription factor; cytokine receptor GP130; membrane microdomain; platelet activation; platelet membrane glycoproteins.