title: Total sialic acid in human and canine platelets does not change with the platelet age.
abstract: Total platelet sialic acid (SA) was measured in three experimental conditions: (1) human and canine platelet density subpopulations obtained by centrifugation in arabinogalactan gradients, (2) circulating canine platelets during recovery from experimental immune and mechanical thrombocytopenias, and (3) platelets obtained from a patient with chronic immune thrombocytopenic purpura before and after splenectomy. The density of human and canine platelets is, in part, determined by their age. We found no significant differences in total SA between high-density (HD) and low-density (LD) platelets (9.32 +/- 2.0 vs. 9.55 +/- 1.3 micrograms/mg of platelet protein in dogs and 9.02 +/- 2.3 vs. 9.10 +/- 2.9 micrograms/mg in humans). In the human and canine thrombocytopenic models, the entrance of new platelets from the bone marrow is followed by their aging in the circulation. In these models, no significant changes in total SA content were detected in sequential measurements during the recovery of the thrombocytopenia. Accordingly, we conclude that total SA in human and canine platelets is unrelated to their age in circulation. These results do not support the notion that the loss of SA from membrane glycoproteins determines the recognition and removal of platelets from the circulation.
authors.affiliation: Department of Hematology-Oncology, School of Medicine, Catholic University, Santiago, Chile.
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Mezzano
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Aranda
authors.forename: M E
authors.initials: ME
authors.lastname: García
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Pereira
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Quiroga
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Pérez
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001792:Blood Platelets / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000166:cytology; D002469:Cell Separation; D016922:Cellular Senescence; D004285:Dogs; D006801:Humans; D007154:Immune System Diseases / Q000097:blood; D012794:Sialic Acids / Q000097:blood*; D013921:Thrombocytopenia / Q000097:blood
chemical_list: D012794:Sialic Acids