Luisa Weiss

and 12 more

Venous Thromboembolism (VTE) remains a significant cause of morbidity and mortality worldwide. Rivaroxaban, a direct oral factor Xa inhibitor, mediates anti-inflammatory and cardiovascular-protective effects besides its well-established anticoagulant properties; yet, these remain poorly characterized. Extracellular vesicles (EVs) are considered proinflammatory messengers regulating a myriad of (patho)physiological processes and may be highly relevant to the pathophysiology of VTE. The effects of Rivaroxaban on circulating EVs in VTE patients remain unknown. We have established that differential EV biosignatures are found in patients with non-valvular atrial fibrillation anticoagulated with Rivaroxaban versus warfarin. Here, we investigated whether differential proteomic profiles of circulating EVs could also be found in patients with VTE. We performed comparative label-free quantitative proteomic profiling of enriched plasma EVs from VTE patients anticoagulated with either Rivaroxaban or warfarin using a tandem mass spectrometry approach. Of the 181 quantified proteins, 6 were found to be either exclusive to, or enriched in, Rivaroxaban-treated patients. Intriguingly, these proteins form a cluster tightly involved in negative feedback regulation of inflammatory and coagulation pathways, suggesting that EV proteomic signatures may reflect both Rivaroxaban’s anti-coagulatory and anti-inflammatory potential. These findings may be of translational relevance towards characterizing the emerging anti-inflammatory and cardioprotective mechanisms associated with this therapy.