On shear-induced platelet aggregation and its therapy

It is now widely accepted that platelet aggregation plays an important role in physiological hemostasis and pathological thrombosis associated with cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases. Anti-platelet aggregation drug research is also a hot spot of current research. The biggest challenge of antiplatelet therapy has been the molecular overlap of the hemostasis and thrombosis, leading to a serious risk of bleeding. Recent studies have emphasized the importance of shear stress generated from blood flow, which will primarily drive platelet activation and aggregation in thrombosis. So if we can take advantage of the differences between the physiological and pathological vascular blood flow environment, the development of selective anti-platelet therapy may be a safer treatment for cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases. In this review, we discuss the underlying mechanisms of shear-induced platelet activation. Later, we summarize the effects and mechanisms of compounds and traditional Chinese medicine on shear-induced platelet activation. The aim is to provide a reference for the study of biological pharmacology of traditional Chinese medicine for promoting blood circulation and removing blood stasis.