Antiplatelet drugs have been demonstrated to reduce the incidence of recurrent events in patients with symptomatic vascular disease. However, there is no experimental data indicating the effects of these agents when given together on platelets and leukocytes. We investigated the ability of aspirin (an inhibitor of cyclo‐oxygenase), dipyridamole (an inhibitor of phospodiesterases and adenosine uptake) and AR‐C69931 (a direct acting P_2T antagonist with effects similar to those of clopidogrel which can be used in vitro) when used alone or in combination to inhibit platelet and leukocyte function.

Measurements of platelet and leukocyte function were performed in blood taken from normal volunteers, and the inhibitory effects of aspirin (100 μmol l⁻¹), dipyridamole (10 μmol l⁻¹) and AR‐C66931 (100 nmol l⁻¹) were determined. Platelet aggregation was induced by stirring blood with and without adenosine diphosphate (ADP) or platelet activating factor (PAF) and measured by platelet counting. Platelet P‐selectin expression, platelet‐leukocyte conjugate formation, and leukocyte activation were determined by flow cytometry.

Dipyridamole, AR‐C69931, dipyridamole and AR‐C69931, dipyridamole and aspirin, AR‐C69931 and aspirin, and all three agents together inhibited platelet aggregation induced by stirring, ADP and PAF (P<0.01). However, it was only the combination of all three agents inhibited P‐selectin expression (P<0.01). Similarly, it was the combination of all three antiplatelet agents that most consistently inhibited platelet‐monocyte and platelet‐neutrophil conjugate formation and monocyte and neutrophil activation.

Since both platelets and leukocytes are thought to contribute to arterial thrombosis and atherosclerosis, it is possible that combinations of different antiplatelet agents with different mechanisms of action may afford better protection than individual or pairs of agents used on their own.