ADP-mediated platelet aggregation is a routinely employed test but its mechanism is poorly understood. The aim of this study was to compare the binding of ADP to plasma membranes isolated from normal platelets and thrombasthenic platelets (which do not aggregate with ADP). Binding of ADP to isolated membranes was assayed by incubation with 14C-ADP followed by Mill i pore filtration. In standard conditions, 14C-ADP was not transformed and non specific binding represented lessthan 3 % of the total binding. Using 1 μM 14C-ADP, the binding has been shown to be a rapid (t 1/2 = 2 mn 30 sec), saturable and reversible phenomenon at 37° C. The existence of a major population of binding sites, with an affinity constant Ka = 0.43 (+ 0.1) χ 106M-1, has been demonstrated. The kinetics of the binding was normal with membranes Tsolated from the platelets of 4 thrombasthenic patients and the affinity constant, when determined, was in the normal range. Dissociation of the membrane-bound 14C-ADP occurred rapidly at 37° C (t l/2c≃3mn) when samples were diluted enough (dilution 1 : 100 was currently employed) to avoid rebinding of the radioligand. Accelerated dissociation (t 1/2 ≃ 1 mn) was observed when the dilution was performed in the presence of an excess of unlabeled ADP, suggesting the existence of negatively cooperative site-site interactions among the ADP binding sites. This effect was only observed at high concentrations of ADP (> 10–5M) and its eventual role in vivo remains to be established. Two thrombasthenic membrane preparations studied in the same way dissociated as did the control membranes.
Pharmacological characterization of two specific binding sites for neurohypophyseal hormones in hippocampal synaptic plasma membranes of the rat.
