Primary thrombophilia in Mexico IX: the glycoprotein IIIa PLA1/A2 polymorphism is not associated with the sticky platelet syndrome phenotype.

Background: The sticky platelet syndrome (SPS) seems to be a common cause of thrombosis, although no molecular substrate to explain platelet hyperaggregability has been found.

Objective: To analyze an association between the SPS phenotype and the platelet glycoprotein (GP) IIIa PL(A1/A2) (human platelet antigen [HPA]-1a/b) gene polymorphism.

Methods: Along an 18-month period, Mexican mestizo thrombophilic patients were prospectively accrued. The SPS phenotype was assessed by aggregometry, whereas a tetra-primer amplification refractory mutation system (ARMS) polymerase chain reaction analysis was used to detect the PLA1 and PLA2 alleles.

Results: A total of 95 individuals with SPS and 127 healthy donors were studied; in 11 of the donors and 16 of the patients with SPS the A2 allele of the GP IIb/IIIA was found, yielding a weak and nonsignificant association (odds ratio 2.14, 95% CI 0.94-4.85).

Conclusions: In Mexican mestizo patients, the platelet GP IIIa PL(A1/A2) gene polymorphism does not lead to the SPS phenotype.