Circulating erythrocyte-derived microparticles are associated with coagulation activation in sickle cell disease

Sickle cell disease is characterized by a hypercoagulable state as a result of multiple factors, including chronic hemolysis and circulating cell-derived microparticles. There is still no consensus on the cellular origin of such microparticles and the exact mechanism by which they may enhance coagulation activation in sickle cell disease. In the present study, we analyzed the origin of circulating microparticles and their procoagulant phenotype during painful crises and steady state in 25 consecutive patients with sickle cell disease. The majority of microparticles originated from platelets (GPIIIa,CD61) and erythrocytes (glycophorin A,CD235), and their numbers did not differ significantly between crisis and steady state. Erythrocyte-derived microparticles strongly correlated with plasma levels of markers of hemolysis, i.e. hemoglobin (r=-0.58, p