Platelet adhesion to vascular endothelial cells is a pathophysiologically relevant cell-to-cell
interaction. However, the mechanisms underlying this cellular interaction are incompletely
understood. In search of the ligand for CD226 adhesion molecule expressed on platelets,
we found that human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVEC) express significant amount of
putative CD226 ligand. We demonstrated that thrombin-activated, but not resting, platelets
bind to intact HUVEC. Anti-CD226 monoclonal antibody specifically inhibited the binding …