Impact of Neutrophil Extracellular Traps on Tissue Plasminogen Activator Induced Thrombolysis in Acute Ischemic Stroke Patients

Acute Ischemic stroke (AIS) remains a leading cause of adult disability, cognitive impairment and mortality worldwide despite the development of revascularization therapies (intravenous Tissue Plasminogen Activator (t-PA) and endovascular therapy). Thrombosis resistance after IV t-PA therapy is frequent especially in case of AIS with proximal occlusion. In recent years, neutrophil extracellular traps (NETs) have been identified as major triggers and structural factors of various forms of thrombosis. NETs are extracellular webs primarily composed of DNA from neutrophils. A recent study shows that the NETs burden in coronary thrombi is positively correlated with the infarct size and negatively correlated with electrocardiogram (ST-segment) resolution. This later study revealed that in vitro addition of DNase I accelerated the t-PA-induced thrombolysis of coronary thrombi. NETs could, in consequence, be promising targets for improved thrombolysis in AIS.

The aim of this study is to assess the impact of NETs composition of thrombi retrieved during endovascular therapy in AIS patients on IV t-PA induced thrombolysis, clinical outcome and AIS etiologies.