Microparticles during smoking and control.

Microparticles were measured by flow cytometry and gated according to size and phosphatidylserine exposure (lactadherin binding) together with cell-specific antigens CD41 (platelet origin), CD144 (endothelial origin) or CD14 (monocyte origin). Platelet microparticles were also investigated for P-selectin (CD41+CD62P), and CD40 ligand (CD41+CD154) exposure. Furthermore, both platelet (CD41) and monocyte (CD14) microparticles were labeled with anti-HMGB1. To asses nuclear content and origin, microparticles were labeled with SYTO 13 and cell-specific antibodies; CD41 (platelet), CD45 (leukocyte) and CD144 (endothelial). Data is presented as median and interquartiles [25∶75]. ns: non significant.