Platelets regulate inflammation as well as hemostasis. Inflammatory insults often induce hemostatic function through mechanisms that are not always understood. The triggering receptor expressed in myeloid cells (TREM)-like transcript 1 (TLT-1) is an abundantly expressed platelet receptor and its deletion leads to hemorrhage and edema after lipopolysaccharide and TNF-α treatment. To define a role for TLT-1 in immune derived bleeding we used a CXCL-2 mediated local inflammatory reaction in the vessels of the cremaster muscle of treml1 -/- and wild type mice. Our whole mount immunofluorescent staining of the cremaster muscle demonstrated a 50% reduction in clot size and increased extravasation of plasma molecules in treml1 -/- mice compared to wild type. We demonstrate that the decreased clotting in treml1 -/- mice is associated with a 2X reduction in integrin β3 phosphorylation on residue Y773 after platelet activation, which is consistent with treml1 -/- mice displaying reduced outside-in signaling and smaller thrombi. We further substantiate TLT-1's role in the regulation of immune derived bleeding using the reverse arthus reaction and demonstrate TLT-1's role in thrombosis using the thromboplastin initiated and collagen/epinephrine models of pulmonary embolism. Thus, the data presented here demonstrate that TLT-1 regulates early clot formation though the stabilization of αIIbβ3 outside-in signaling.
Keywords: TREM-Like transcript (TLT)-1; alpha granules; outside-in signaling; platelets; αIIbβ3.