LIPOPOLYSACCHARIDE INDUCES EXPOSURE OF FIBRINOGEN RECEPTORS ON HUMAN PLATELETS

The effect of lipopolysaccharide (LPS) on the exposure of platelet fibrinogen receptors was investigated.The results showed that:1)LPS increased the binding of fibrinogen-gold complexes to platelets and the labels were primarily limited to shape-changed platelets;2)LPS caused a dose-dependent rise in intracellular Ca^2+ concentration in platelets;3)LPS induced the activation of platelet protein kinase C(PKC) and the phosphorylation of glycoprotein llla (GP llla) which was inhibited by H-7.All these results suggest that stimulation of platelets with LPS causes a conformational change in glycoprotein llb/Illa (GPllb/llla) through platelet shape change and/or phosphorylation of GPllla via PKC,which serves to expose the fibrinogen binding sites of GPllb/llla on human platelets.