Assessment of platelet activity as expressed by plasma levels of platelet factor 4 and β-thromboglobulin in patients with chronic idiopathic urticaria

Blood platelet significance in inflammation is recognized but poorly characterized in urticaria. It is known that platelets are activated during inflammatory processes and are involved in modulating inflammatory and immune response via various mediator release. The aim of our study was to investigate the functional state of platelets, expressed by release reaction of C-X-C chemokines such as platelet factor 4 (PF-4) and beta-thromboglobulin (beta-TG) in chronic idiopathic urticaria (CIU). Plasma levels of PF-4 and beta-TG, which are established markers of in vivo platelet activation and which play important role in inflammatory processes, were measured by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay in 19 patients with CIU and in 25 healthy subjects. Mean plasma PF-4 level in CIU patients and control subjects was 5.01 +/- 1.67 and 4.13 +/- 2.05 IU/ml, respectively, whereas that for beta-TG was 29.3 +/- 14.0 and 25.2 +/- 12.6 IU/ml, respectively. In our small study, there have been no significant differences found between the members of the control and CIU group regarding plasma levels of PF-4 and beta-TG. Further studies should be performed to elucidate whether any systemic platelet activation occurs in CIU.