Neutrophils are the initial cell type identified in deep venous thrombosis induced vein wall inflammation.

Venous thrombosis and inflammation are interrelated. The authors hypothesized that inferior vena cava thrombosis results in a predictable vein wall inflammatory response, characterized by early neutrophil infiltration. Thrombosis was induced in rats by placement of an inferior vena cava ligature with branch ligation. Animals were killed at baseline, 6 hrs, day 2, and day 6. Analysis included vein wall morphometrics, myeloperoxidase activity, and fluorescence activated cell sorting. At 6 hrs, there was an increase in neutrophils and lymphocytes as compared to sham animals (p < 0.0001 for neutrophils, p < 0.05 for lymphocytes). By day 2, only neutrophils were elevated in the experimental groups (experimental = 75.5 cells/5 high power fields vs. 9.6 cells/ 5 high power fields in shams, p < 0.0001). Myeloperoxidase activity in the experimental group was greater than shams on day 2(34.7 delta optical density/min vs. 5.9 delta optical density/ min, p < 0.0001). Fluorescence activated cell sorting of the neutrophil marker at 6 hrs confirmed the increase in neutrophils (experimental = 63.1%, shams = 39.1%, p < 0.0001), and peaked on day 2 (71.9%). This study suggests that 1) neutrophils are elevated early during the inflammatory response due to thrombus initiation, and 2) neutrophils, because of their early predominance, likely contributed to vein wall injury during venous thrombosis.