PROBES OF TRANSMEMBRANE POTENTIALS IN PLATELETS - CHANGES IN CYANINE DYE FLUORESCENCE IN RESPONSE TO AGGREGATION STIMULI

  • 1 January 1978
    • journal article
    • research article
    • Vol. 51  (4) , 741-749
Abstract
A noncovalent fluorescent probe that responded to changes in transmembrane potential was used to study the response of washed human platelets to aggregating agents. Concentration-dependent changes in the fluorescence were observed in response to ADP and to thrombin. No such changes were observed in response to collagen fibrils. Platelet membrane potential apparently changed in response to aggregating stimuli, showing that the mechanism of platelet aggregation resembled the mechanisms of other systems that show stimulus-response coupling (e.g., muscle, adrenal chromaffin cells). The different responses to specific agents indicate that the agents may trigger platelet aggregation through different mechanisms.