Summary
Normal human platelets aggregated by thrombin undergo the release reaction and are
not readily deaggregated by the combination of inhibitors hirudin, prostaglandin E1 (PGE1) and chymotrypsin. Released adenosine diphosphate (ADP) plays an important role in
the stabilization of thrombin-induced human platelet aggregates. Since ticlopidine
inhibits the platelet responses to ADP, we studied thrombin-induced aggregation and
deaggregation of 14C-serotonin-labeled platelets from 12 patients with cardiovascular disease before
and 7 days after the oral administration of ticlopidine, 250 mg b.i.d. Before and
after ticlopidine, platelets stimulated with 1 U/ml thrombin aggregated, released
about 80–90% 14C-serotinin and did not deaggregate spontaneously within 5 min from stimulation. Before
ticlopidine, hirudin (5× the activity of thrombin) and PGE1 (10 μmol/1) plus chymotrypsin (10 U/ml) or plasmin (0.06 U/ml), added at the peak
of platelet aggregation, caused slight or no platelet deaggregation. After ticlopidine,
the extent of platelet deaggregation caused by the same inhibitors was significantly
greater than before ticlopidine. The addition of ADP (10 μmol/1) to platelet suspensions
5 s after thrombin did not prevent the deaggregation of ticlopidine-treated platelets.
Thus, ticlopidine facilitates the deaggregation of thrombin-induced human platelet
aggregates, most probably because it inhibits the effects of ADP on platelets.