Ultrastructural Study of Platelet Aggregation by Mouse 15091A Tumor Cells
Most tumor cells cause aggregation of platelets in heparinized plasma via material shed into culture medium. In this study we investigated the events by transmission electron microscopy. Freshly washed cells were covered with closely spaced microvilli, many of which pinched off during 1 hour of incubation at 37°C. Both cells and shed microvilli were membrane enclosed. Shed microvilli became spherical vesicles containing cytoplasm. Platelets aggregated when stirred with incubated tumor cells or shed material. The aggregates were composed of platelets that showed pseudopod formation, centralization of granules and increase in the open channel system. Platelets around the periphery of aggregates had bulbous portions free of granules (ballooning) but many granules remained in platelets in the interior of aggregates suggesting that release of lysosomal enzymes may have been somewhat limited. Aggregates resembled those induced by ADP rather than by thrombin. Tumor cells were not incorporated into the aggregates. Vesicles were not selectively associated with platelets prior to or during aggregation. While some vesicles were incorporated into aggregates, it appeared that this was a consequence rather than the cause of aggregation. Therefore, vesicles may have produced soluble material that induced platelet aggregation.