Summary
Purified suspension of basement membranes have been prepared from renal tubules or
glomerules.
Platelets adhere to fragments of basement membranes. With turbidimetric technique
platelets from PRP were aggregated, without delay, by suspension of basement membranes
especially from tubular origin. The kinetic of this phenomenon was similar to the
one of platelet aggregation induced by a suspension of purified collagen fibers. Similarities
and differences between the action of tubular membranes and that of collagen on platelets
are discussed.
A soluble factor with platelet aggregating effect was found in the supernatant of
suspension of basement membranes. The chemical nature of this new platelet aggregating
is still unknown. We may de bealing with the degradation product of a collagenlike
protein.
It is concluded that basement membranes are able to produce strong platelet aggregation.
This phenomenon might possibly play a significant role in the early stages of intravascular
thrombosis.