In vitro effect of thymic epithelial culture supernate on cyclic GMP levels in rabbit platelets.

: When supernatants of thymic epithelial cell cultures (STEC) or thymosin fraction 5 were incubated with washed platelets (37 degrees C for 30 min), the levels of platelet guanosine 3',5'-cyclic monophosphate (cyclic GMP) were increased in a dose-dependent manner. In contrast the supernatants from Chang, HeLa, or HCC-M cell cultures did not significantly affect the levels of intracellular cyclic GMP. The increment of intracellular cyclic GMP levels following treatment with STEC increased with longer incubation times until a plateau was reached at 30 min. This activity of STEC was found in fractions with a molecular weight below 10,000 daltons. Contents of guanine and guanosine in STEC were lower than those observed in other culture supernatants. STEC did not affect guanylate cyclase activity in platelets, but significantly inhibited cyclic GMP phosphodiesterase activities in platelet soluble and membrane fractions. Thymosin fraction 5 inhibited the phosphodiesterase activity of the soluble but not the membrane fraction.