Measurement Of Platelet Factor 3 Availability By Using Chromogenic Substrate
The measurement of platelet factor 3 (Pf 3) availability (the prothrombin converting procoagulant activity of platelet membran phospholipids) induced by collagen, ristocetin, arachidonic acid or other activating agents is a potentially valuable test in the diagnosis of platelet disorders. Its diagnostic potential, however is greatly impaired by the fact that RW clotting time method usually used for Pf 3 determination is influenced by many factors, its reproducibility is rather poor, and results are difficult to express in quantitative well defined biochemical terms.In the present paper a new method measuring Pf 3 activity by using a chromogenic substrate was developed. Platelet rich plasma(PRP) was incubated by various activating agents, then prothrombin thrombin conversion was started by the addition of purified factor Xa. After a certain interval the reaction was stopped by soybean trypsin inhibitor and thrombin formed during the reaction was quantified by the chromogenic substrate S-2238 (Kabi). By varying incubation time, prothrombin, factor V concentrations, the optimal conditions, where platelet phospholipid was the rate limiting factor, were determined. In these conditions Pf 3 activity was a linear function of the number of activated platelets. The results are expressed as the ratio of thrombin generated in activated and unactivated PRP. The method is a rather simple quantitative photometric technique, has an improved reproducibility, and results showing the increase in thrombin generation have well defined biochemical meaning.