# Connecting Sex to Platelet Function after Mechanical Activation

> **NIH NIH F31** · UNIVERSITY OF WASHINGTON · 2020 · $40,453

## Abstract

Cardiovascular disease is the most common cause of death worldwide. Differences in
cardiovascular disease in males and females have been well established, but despite the
importance of thrombosis in ischemic stroke, ischemic heart disease, and venous
thromboembolism, sex differences in platelet function are often absent from the conversation.
None the less, males and females have differences in bleeding risk, response to anti-platelet
therapy, thrombosis-related disease incidence and outcomes, and mortality post-trauma. In
combination with hormonal and genetic factors, differences may be due to variability in platelet
biology such as well-established differences in platelet count, alleged differences in expression of
key surface receptors, and variability of surface receptor activation. While previous work has
used clinical tests to examine differences in thrombotic function between males and females and
found modest significant differences or no significant differences, these tests use classic
biochemical agonists to activate platelets, rather than biophysical activation of the
mechanoreceptors platelet glycoprotein Ibα (GPIbα) and integrin αIIbβ3. In this work, I seek to
investigate how sex affects mechanically-activated platelet function, which is critical in arterial
thrombosis. The goal of this grant is to determine whether hemostatic function varies by sex
under arterial, high-shear activated environments without exogenous biochemical agonists. I will
also address whether sex differences exist in aspects of platelet biology related to arterial
thrombosis, including mechanical activatability of platelet mechanoreceptors GPIbα and integrin
αIIbβ3, platelet adhesion in flow, and platelet contractile forces. This investigation is important
because understanding variability in thrombosis between males and females will affect
characterization of healthy platelet function, design of future research studies, application of anti-
platelet treatments, and development of future preventative and curative therapeutics.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 9976997
- **Project number:** 5F31HL147462-02
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF WASHINGTON
- **Principal Investigator:** MOLLY YEANDEL MOLLICA
- **Activity code:** F31 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2020
- **Award amount:** $40,453
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2019-06-16 → 2022-06-15

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/9976997

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 9976997, Connecting Sex to Platelet Function after Mechanical Activation (5F31HL147462-02). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-22 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/9976997. Licensed CC0.

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