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The Tn-syndrome is an acquired disorder characterized by the polyagglutination of blood cells and the pathological exposure of alpha-N-acetyl-D-galactosamine residues (Tn-antigen) at the cell surface. We now report studies on the platelet of a patient (Ba.) of which 81% reacted positively with a fluorescein conjugate of Helix pomatia agglutinin (HPA). The surface proteins of Ba. platelets were labeled with 125I by the lactoperoxidase-catalyzed procedure; single and two-dimensional electrophoresis on sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS)-polyacrylamide gels was followed by autoradiography that revealed normal 125I-labeling of the major membrane glycoproteins (GP) but that GP Ib had a faster than normal migration. the abnormal GP Ib of Ba. platelets was strongly labeled when platelet suspensions were treated sequentially with neuraminidase, galactose oxidase, and sodium [3H]borohydride. Unlike the GP Ib of normal human platelets, it was also strongly labeled when Ba. platelets were treated with galactose oxidase and sodium [3H]borohydride alone. Both the alloantigen, PlA1, and quinidine-dependent antibody receptor activity were normally expressed by Ba. platelets, which also bound a monoclonal antibody (AN51) to GP Ib. Analysis of Ba. platelets by crossed immunoelectrophoresis using a rabbit anti-human platelet antibody preparation revealed the presence of an immunoprecipitate in the GP Ib position that had an abnormal appearance and migration in the second dimension. An altered position of the precipitate given by Factor VIIIR:Ag was also noted. Incorporation of HPA into the agarose gel during the first dimension electrophoresis resulted in the specific precipitation of the abnormal GP Ib of Ba. platelets. Our studies show that circulating Tn-platelets contain GP Ib with a modified oligosaccharide chain structure responsible for the platelet expression of Tn-antigen activity.

We demonstrate that HEL, a human erythroleukemic cell line, has numerous megakaryocytic markers which were markedly enhanced following the addition of the inducers dimethyl sulfoxide or 12-O-tetradecanoylphorbol-13-acetate to the culture medium. Ultrastructural and cytochemical studies showed: (i) the presence of organelles morphologically resembling the platelet alpha-granules; and (ii) a peroxidase activity with the same characteristics as that specifically found in platelets. The platelet alpha-granule proteins (von Willebrand factor, platelet factor-4 and beta-thromboglobulin) were immunologically detected in the HEL cell cytoplasm and their amounts increased after induction. Of particular interest was the presence of platelet membrane proteins. A monoclonal antibody specific for glycoprotein Ib bound to HEL cells. Platelet membrane glycoproteins IIb and IIIa were identified on intact cells using specific antibodies in a binding assay or in cell lysates using either crossed immunoelectrophoresis or an immunoblotting procedure following SDS-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. Most HEL cells also expressed the platelet alloantigen PIA1. All of the platelet membrane proteins were present in higher amounts after induction. Glycophorin A, specific for the erythroid lineage, was also detected on HEL cells. Thus, while confirming the presence of erythroid markers, our studies provide evidence that the HEL cell line also expresses platelet antigens. As such, HEL cells represent a unique system with which to study the biosynthesis of platelet-specific proteins and glycoproteins.

Previous experiments demonstrated that chymotrypsin, but not adenosine diphosphate (ADP), exposed fibrinogen binding sites on platelets from patients with Glanzmann's thrombasthenia. Three of these patients have been reexamined, and previous observations were confirmed. The quantity of iodine 125-labeled glycoprotein IIb (GPIIb) and glycoprotein IIIa (GPIIIa) on the platelets of these patients was considerably less than normal but was detectable by immunoprecipitation, sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis, and autoradiography. The amount of residual GPIIb and GPIIIa as measured by binding studies with radiolabeled monoclonal antibodies was between 3% and 12% of the normal value. Platelet suspensions from these patients did not aggregate with fibrinogen and did not bind 125I-fibrinogen on stimulation with ADP. However, incubation of these platelets with chymotrypsin or pronase resulted in fibrinogen binding and platelet aggregation. Monoclonal antibodies specific for the GPIIb-GPIIIa complex blocked both the fibrinogen binding and the aggregation of enzyme-treated platelets. The treatment of washed platelets of a fourth thrombasthenic patient with ADP or with chymotrypsin failed to result in fibrinogen binding and aggregation. However, the level of GPIIb and GPIIIa on these platelets as measured by a Western blot technique and by monoclonal antibody binding amounted to less than 0.35% to 0.5% of normal values. In conclusion, fibrinogen binding sites exposed on thrombasthenic platelets by chymotrypsin are derived from GPIIb-GPIIIa molecules. Aggregation of chymotrypsin-treated thrombasthenic platelets by fibrinogen appears to represent a sensitive test for detection of functionally active GPIIb-GPIIIa complex on the platelet surface.

The effect on platelet function of a monoclonal platelet antibody to platelet membrane glycoprotein I was tested. This antibody, AN51, inhibited ristocetin or bovine factor VIII-induced aggregation but did not modify ADP, collagen type I or type III, thrombin or arachidonic acid induced aggregations. Furthermore, the adhesion-aggregation of platelets induced by microfibrils was also inhibited by the antibody. Platelet adhesion to rabbit aorta subendothelium was impaired by the antibody. The persistent adhesion of platelets to collagenase-treated subendothelium was also inhibited. These findings strongly suggested that platelet membrane glycoprotein I could interact with a non-collagenic microfibrillar component of subendothelium. The binding of factor VIII/von Willebrand factor to platelet membrane in the presence of ristocetin was decreased in the binding site for factor VIII/von Willebrand factor to allow platelet adhesion to subendothelium.

We have previously described a monoclonal antibody (FA6-152), obtained by immunizing mice with fetal human erythrocytes [Edelman, Vinci, Villeval, Vainchenker, Henri, Miglierina, Rouger, Reviron, Breton-Gorius, Sureau & Edelman (1986) Blood 67, 56-63]. The antibody labelled fetal, but not adult, erythrocytes and bound to both fetal and adult platelets and monocytes. In the present study we have characterized the antigen recognized by FA6-152 on human platelets and on cells of the erythroid lineage at different stages of maturation. FA6-152 precipitated a chymotrypsin-resistant 88 kDa sialoglycoprotein from both iodinated and periodate/NaB3H4-surface-labelled platelets which corresponds to glycoprotein IV, the platelet thrombospondin (TSP) receptor. After neuraminidase treatment, a shift of the apparent molecular mass from 88 kDa to 85 kDa was observed. Scatchard analysis revealed that 125I-FA6-152 bound saturably with high affinity to a single class of platelet binding sites (Kd 6.4 +/- 0.6 nM). The number of FA6-152 IgG molecules bound per platelet was 25,400 +/- 8,800 (n = 4) and did not change upon thrombin activation of platelets. At low doses of alpha-thrombin (0.025 unit), FA6-152 inhibited platelet aggregation as well as endogenous TSP binding to the platelet surface. Immunofluorescence labelling of bone-marrow cells and of cultures in vitro of burst-forming units-erythroid (BFU-E) and colony-forming units-erythroid (CFU-E) revealed that that FA6-152 antigen is a very early marker of erythroid differentiation and that its expression declines during maturation. Immunochemical identification of the FA6-152 antigen on fetal erythroblasts and fetal mature erythrocytes revealed a 78 kDa glycoprotein migrating just in front of the glycophorin A dimer. The antigen, which was absent from adult mature erythrocytes, was also detected in human erythroleukaemic (HEL) cells where FA6-152 precipitated two bands of molecular mass 85 and 88 kDa. Our data establish the existence of a previously unidentified 78 kDa erythroblast cell-surface glycoprotein whose expression is developmentally regulated during erythroid differentiation and which is immunologically related to the 88 kDa platelet TSP receptor.

The radiolabelled monoclonal antibody, 5G11, directed against native thrombospondin, has been used to assess the surface expression of secreted thrombospondin on human blood platelets. Emphasis has been placed on studying the role of fibrinogen in this process. Unstimulated platelets bound low amounts of 5G11 (about 2000 molecules/platelet). Binding increased 2-fold and 5-7-fold after stimulation of platelets with ADP or thrombin (or ionophore A23187) respectively. Unstimulated platelets from patients deficient in alpha-granule proteins (gray platelet syndrome) bound baseline levels of 5G11. However, binding was not increased after activation. Thrombospondin expression on thrombin-stimulated normal platelets was for a large part divalent-cation-dependent and was not affected by AP-2, a monoclonal antibody to GPIIb-IIIa complexes. However, binding of 5G11 was some 50% lower when platelets were stimulated in the presence of Fab fragments of a polyclonal rabbit antibody to fibrinogen. This suggested either a direct binding of thrombospondin to surface-bound fibrinogen or a steric inhibition due to a close proximity of the two proteins. The fact that binding of 5G11 was at the lower limit of the normal range to the stimulated platelets of an afibrinogenaemic patient specifically lacking detectable fibrinogen favoured the latter explanation. Thus, a major fibrinogen-independent pathway for thrombospondin expression must exist.

Glanzmann's thrombasthenia is an inherited bleeding disorder characterized by abnormalities of platelet membrane glycoproteins (GP) IIb and IIIa. Most patients, usually designated as type I, have been reported to have undetectable levels of GP IIb and GP IIIa with the assay used. We have used polyclonal rabbit antibodies against GP IIb and GP IIIa in a sensitive immunoblot procedure capable of revealing trace amounts of these glycoproteins. Platelets from nine thrombasthenic patients, including seven with type I disease, were studied. GP IIIa, although decreased, was clearly detectable in platelets of eight patients and GP IIb was identified in five. Our findings suggest that residual quantities of GP IIb and GP IIIa are present in most patients with thrombasthenia and therefore that major deletions in the gene or genes encoding these proteins are uncommon.

A rat monoclonal IgG2a antibody, 5G11, was raised against native human platelet thrombospondin (TSP). Western blot analysis revealed that 5G11 bound (i) to TSP before and after disulfide reduction, and (ii) to a 15-kDa fragment released after prolonged trypsin digestion. Crossed immunoelectrophoresis confirmed that the binding epitope was expressed in the presence of Ca2+ and after treatment of TSP with EDTA. Since 5G11 had no effect on platelet aggregation, the antibody was used to immunoprecipitate Ca2+-dependent and Ca2+-independent TSP-binding molecules on the surface of thrombin-activated surface-labeled 125I-platelets. The experimental basis was that ligand-receptor interactions are of high affinity and that anti-ligand antibodies should precipitate the ligand-receptor complex. With platelets activated in the presence of EDTA, 5G11 predominantly precipitated a 125I-labeled band of Mr 88,000, identified as glycoprotein (GP) IV. In contrast, in the presence of 2 mM Ca2+ and 1 mM Mg2+, 5G11 precipitated a complex of five radiolabeled proteins, among which GPIIb, GPIIIa and GPIV were the most prominent.

A number of recent reports have described murine monoclonal antibodies that react specifically with the complex formed by human platelet membrane glycoproteins (GP) IIb and IIIa. We show that the IgG L, a previously described human alloantibody isolated from a polytransfused thrombasthenia patient, has similar properties. When used in non-precipitating amounts in crossed immunoelectrophoresis (CIE), 125I-IgG L bound strongly to the IIb-IIIa complex. However, after dissociation of the complex with EDTA, only a weak binding to GP IIb and no binding to GP IIIa was detected. In further studies, increased amounts of IgG L were interacted with 125I-labeled membrane glycoproteins in (a) CIE and (b) classical indirect immunoprecipitation experiments. Although the antibody was able to quantitatively precipitate the IIb-IIIa complex from Triton X-100-soluble extracts of platelet membranes, no precipitation of GP IIb or GP IIIa was observed after divalent cation chelation. Addition of EDTA to immunoprecipitates containing GP IIb-IIIa resulted in dissociation and partial release of both glycoproteins. The interaction of the IgG L with electrophoretically separated GP IIb and GP IIIa was studied using a Western blot procedure in the presence of Ca2+, Mg2+, or EDTA. The presence of divalent cations did not increase the reactivity of the antibody with the individual glycoproteins. Overall, our results show that acquired antibodies to IIb-IIIa, such as the IgG L, may predominantly react with complex-dependent determinants.

An IgG2a monoclonal antibody, referred to as 12B1 and raised against the K562 cell line, reacted with adherent monocytes maintained in culture for several days but not with bone marrow or peripheral blood cells including freshly isolated monocytes. Among human leukemic cell lines, 12B1 reacted essentially with the promyelocytic HL60 cell line. 12-O-Tetradecanoylphorbol 13-acetate treatment, but no other differentiation inducer, strongly enhanced its reactivity on K562, HL60 and the histiocytic U937 cell line. Immunoperoxidase staining of sections of normal human tissues showed that 12B1 specifically recognized dendritic reticulum cells in germinal centers of lymph nodes, spleen and tonsils. The 12B1-detected antigen is a highly glycosylated polypeptide of an apparent molecular mass of 93-86 kDa. The 12B1 antigen appears to be a new glycoprotein marker shared by adherent monocytes and dendritic reticulum cells. The association of the 12B1 epitope with cells which present antigen and/or exert accessory function suggests that this molecule could play a role in these activities.

The accurate definition of surface glycoprotein abnormalities in circulating platelets may provide better understanding of bleeding and thrombotic disorders. Platelet surface glycoproteins were measured on intact platelets in whole blood and platelet membrane microparticles were assayed in cell-free plasma using 125I-monoclonal antibodies. The glycoproteins (GP) studied were: GP Ib and GP IIb-IIIa, two of the major intrinsic plasma membrane glycoproteins; GMP-140, an alpha-granule membrane glycoprotein that becomes exposed on the platelet surface following secretion; and thrombospondin (TSP), an alpha-granule secreted glycoprotein that rebinds to the platelet surface. Thrombin-induced secretion in normal platelets caused the appearance of GMP-140 and TSP on the platelet surface, increased exposure of GP IIb-IIIa, and decreased antibody binding to GP Ib. Patients with adult respiratory distress syndrome had an increased concentration of GMP-140 and TSP on the surface of their platelets, demonstrating in vivo platelet secretion, but had no increase of platelet microparticles in their plasma. In contrast, patients after cardiac surgery with cardiopulmonary bypass demonstrated changes consistent with membrane fragmentation without secretion: a decreased platelet surface concentration of GP Ib and GP IIb with no increase of GMP-140 and TSP, and an increased plasma concentration of platelet membrane microparticles. These methods will help to define acquired abnormalities of platelet surface glycoproteins.

Platelet glycoproteins (GP) IIb and IIIa exist as noncovalently associated Ca++-dependent heterodimer complexes within the platelet membrane and express the major platelet alloantigens Leka (Baka) and PIA1 (Zwa), which are genetic markers of GP IIb and GP IIIa, respectively. Since heterodimers immunologically related to platelet GP IIb/IIIa have been identified in a number of nucleated cell types, we tested anti-Leka and anti-PIA1 antiserum, polyclonal anti-platelet GP IIb/IIIa IgG, as well as a panel of 28 monoclonal anti-GP IIb, GP IIIa, or complex dependent anti-GP IIb/IIIa antibodies on endothelial cells, peripheral blood mononuclear cells, and the erythroleukemic cells HEL and K562 in order to determine whether nucleated cell GP IIb/IIIa related proteins and platelet GP IIb/IIIa are immunologically related. Using immunofluorescence, immunoblotting, and immunoprecipitation experiments, evidence is presented that (1) the alloantigen Leka is not expressed in endothelial cells of an individual whose platelets are of the Leka/PIA1 phenotype, whereas the PIA1 alloantigen is readily detectable in these cells, (2) that in contrast to HEL cells, which express platelet GP IIb/IIIa and are of the Leka/PIA1 phenotype, platelet GP IIb is immunologically undetectable in 12-O-tetradecanoyl-phorbol-13-acetate (TPA)-treated K562 cells despite the presence of platelet GP IIIa, and (3) that peripheral blood mononuclear cells do not express platelet GP IIb or GP IIIa on their cell surface.