Inhibition by the PAF antagonist WEB 2086 of PAF induced inositol-1,4,5-trisphosphate production in human platelets

Platelet-activating factor (PAF) activates human platelets by binding to a putative PAF receptor which evokes the rapid formation of inositol-1,4,5-trisphosphate (IP3) by phospholipase C mediated phosphatidylinositol-4,5-bisphosphate (PIP2) hydrolysis. Stimulation of [3H]inositol-labeled human platelets by PAF (1 nM-1μM) resulted in a concentration-dependent increase of intracellular IP3, IP2 and inositolmonophosphate (IP1). IP1 levels increased up to three-fold upon maximum stimulation by 100 nM PAF. The EC50 concentration for PAF was 1.2±0.3 nM. Addition of the hetrazepinoic PAF antagonist, WEB 2086, inhibited PAF stimulated hydrolysis of PIP2 in a dose-dependent manner. WEB 2086 (100 μM) blocked inositol-1,4,5-trisphosphate formation down to baseline levels (IC50=33±12 μM WEB 2086). In thrombin and ADP stimulated platelets, inositol phosphate (IP) generation was not influenced by WEB 2086. It is concluded that WEB 2086 selectively antagonizes PAF-induced increases in IP and does not interfere directly with intracellular signal transduction. Instead, WEB 2086, which has been shown to bind specifically and with high affinity (Ki 15 nM) to human platelets, acts as a competitive antagonist at the PAF receptor level.