Electrokinetic, analytical and functional heterogeneity of circulating human platelets: separation of subpopulations by continuous flow electrophoresis after taxol stabilization.

A continuous flow electrophoresis procedure has been developed to study platelet subpopulation heterogeneity with separations based upon surface electrical charge differences. Taxol at low concentrations has been used to transiently stabilize the cells during the separations. At a concentration of 10(-5) M taxol has no effect upon a wide range of physical, analytical and enzymatic properties and does not compromise agonist-induced activation responses (aggregation and secretion). A typical normal platelet subpopulation profile extends over 15-20 fractions with mobilities from -0.97 to -0.78 microns per s per volt per cm. Platelet size (resistive particle counter volumes) differed significantly across the profile, the most electronegative cells being the larger, and the least electronegative the smaller platelets. Total platelet sialic acid content and surface neuraminidase-labile sialic acid correlated positively with electronegativity, but the surface -SH group status had an inverse relationship with the least electronegative smaller platelets, having twice as many surface DTNB-titratable - SH groups as the most electrophoretically mobile and larger cells. Normalisation of analytical and enzymatic data to cell volumes revealed that the smaller less electronegative platelets were substantially richer in all constituents and properties than the larger more electronegative platelets. These smaller cells showed higher activities for lysosomal enzymes, and their functions (capacity to transport 5-hydroxytryptamine and adenosine across the plasma membrane and responsiveness to thrombin expressed by synthesis of thromboxane B2 (TXB2) or release of 5HT) were greater than the larger more electronegative cells. No significant differences were observed, however, in the subpopulations by optical aggregometry using six different agonists each at three different concentrations. This free flow electrophoresis separation of platelets, which can be carried out on a preparative scale, may have some advantages over the conventional density gradient separations of subpopulations for investigating clinical states affecting thrombopoietic regulation or platelet losses from the circulation due to vessel wall disease, prosthetic implants or during extracorporeal circuitry.