Summary
Factor VIII-related activities have been studied in platelet fractions in order to try to reconcile the conflicting findings of other workers, and to extend the studies. In platelets from 16 normal subjects procoagulant factor VIII was not detected. The amount of factor VIII-related antigen (FVIIIR: AG) in the cytosol per mg of protein was about twice that in the membrane fraction and about ten times that in the debris fraction. There was no significant difference between the amount of FVIIIR: AG and ristocetin cofactor (RistCof) activity in each fraction. The findings in haemophilic platelets were similar. In von Willebrand’s disease (vWd) one serverely affected patient had no detectable factor VIII related activities in any platelet fraction. In 5 patients with intermediate vWd results were normal. In a further 5, with more prolonged bleeding times, no FVIIIR: RistCof was detected in platelets, despite a normal amount of FVIIIR: AG in the cytosol and debris. The electrophoretic mobility of cytosol FVIIIR: AG was increased in all normals and patients, while that in the membrane and debris fractions had normal mobility. Cytosol FVIIIR: AG eluted later than normal FVIIIR: AG on gel filtration on Sepharose 2B, and also showed reduced antibody binding in an immunoradiometric assay. Precipitation of FVIIIR: AG by concanavalin A was incomplete in all platelet fractions from normals, and even more reduced in vWd platelet fractions. The results suggest the possibility of two types of platelet FVIIIR: AG.
A factor VIII-related antigen was shown to be associated with normal washed platelets by immunofluorescence techniques (Bloom et al. 1973). Since then, several studies have been reported on the localisation of factor VIII related antigen (FVIIIR: AG), factor VIII procoagulant activity (FVIII: C) and factor VIII related ristocetin cofactor activity (FVIIIR: RistCof) within the platelets. Initially, Howard et al. (1974) indicated that FVIIIR: AG was firmly bound to the platelet membrane, and noted that in lysed platelets the level of FVIIIR: AG as measured by electroimmunodiffusion was higher than that in whole platelet suspensions. However, further studies by Nachman and Jaffe (1975) showed that FVIIIR: AG was also present to a considerable extent in the granules, and they detected none in the platelet cytosol. Bouma and colleagues (1975) were, however, able to find FVIIIR: AG and FVIIIR: RistCof in the cytosol upon freezing and thawing platelets. This FVIIIR: AG had an electrophoretic mobility comparable to that of normal plasma. They also noted that platelets which were air dried apparently had a granular FVIIIR:AG localisation by immunfluorescence; however, intact platelets in suspension did not stain by this method.
Recently Ruggeri et al. (1977) and Sultan et al. (1977) have also found FVIIIR: AG in the cytosol, and the former authors reported it to have increased electrophoretic mobility when compared to normal plasma FVIIIR:AG. Results concerning the localisation of FVIIIR: AG in normal platelets have thus been conflicting. Similarly, in the few reports available concerning platelet FVIIIR: AG in von Willibrand’s disease variable results have also been obtained (Ruggeri et al. 1977, Howard et al. 1974, Shearn et al. 1974 and Bouma et al. 1975).
In this study we report on the localisation of factor VIII-related activities in normal, haemophilic and von Willebrand’s disease platelets using available standard techniques as well as precipitation of FVIIIR: AG with the plant lectin concanavalin A, a procedure which has been shown to detect abnormal forms of FVIIIR:AG in certain types of von Willebrand’s disease (Peake and Bloom 1977).
