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T C Detwiler

Publications and source records attributed to T C Detwiler.

At least 55 records · Page 3Linked to original sources
PubMed1978

Evidence that calcium regulates platelet function.

It is generally believed that calcium ions play a key role in regulation of platelet function. This is based on 3 types of evidence. 1. Analogies with other cells. Calcium ions are known to trigger secretion and contraction in many cells, possibly reflecting a general role for calcium in all secretion and contraction. 2. Indirect evidence. Platelet aggregation and secretion are induced by divalent cation ionophores. The response to the ionophore A23187 is identical to that induced by other potent stimuli. 3. Direct evidence. Platelet activation can be blocked by drugs (e. g. certain local anesthetics) that block release of calcium ions from sarcoplasmic reticulum; the inhibition can be overcome by addition of extracellular calcium in the presence of a calcium ionophore. While this does not constitute definitive proof, the central role for calcium ions remains an attractive hypothesis that justifies attempts to further define calcium pools and fluxes in platelets.

Blood Platelets↗
PubMed1978

Binding of thrombin to human platelet plasma membranes.

Binding of 125I-labeled thrombin to isolated human platelet plasma membranes was studied. Two classes of sites, one with high and one with low affinity for thrombin, were demonstrated. The apparent dissociation constants for the high and low affinity sites were 3.2 and 600 nM, respectively, similar to values obtained with intact platelets. Maximum binding was within 10 s, the shortest time measured, and then decreased with time to a constant level of binding within 45 s. When the equilibrium was perturbed by dilution, the system re-equilibrated with less thrombin bound than in a control that was dilute before mixing thrombin and membranes. Neither the time-dependent decrease nor the dilution effect were observed with phenylmethylsulfonyl-125I-labelled thrombin, an irreversibly inhibited thrombin, suggesting that these phenomena may involve a thrombin-catalyzed modification of the membranes leading decreased binding.

Binding Sites↗
PubMed1977

Quantitative evaluation of the loss of human platelet dense bodies following stimulation by thrombin or A23187.

1. Distributions of dense bodies per platelet were evaluated in unstimulated human platelets and in platelets stimulated to secrete by the addition of varying amounts of thrombin or the ionophore A23187. Since distributions were not Gaussian, they were compared by non-parametric methods. 2. Most distribution obtained following varying levels of dense-body release differed significantly from the control (unstimulated) distribution. In general, distribution from points widely separated in terms of per cent release of total dense-body content also differed significantly. Distributions obtained at points where the total number of dense bodies lost was approximately the same did not differ significantly, regardless of the drug and incubation conditions used to produce the dense-body loss. 3. Dense bodies were lose from platelets during the secretory process (measured as the release of either calcium or ATP), and the number of dense bodies lost correlated at a significant level with the amounts of both substances secreted. 4. Following maximal secretion produced by either thrombin or A23187, a population of dense bodies (refractory dense bodies) remained in platelets. The refractory dense bodies could not have been distributed uniformly among the control populations of either platelets or dense bodies. The distribution of refractory dense bodies could, however, be described by a model in which platelets containing large numbers of dense bodies had a greater proportion of their dense-body complement refractory than did platelets containing fewer dense bodies.

Adenosine Triphosphate↗
PubMed1977

Interrelations of platelet aggregation and secretion.

The mechanism of stimulus-response coupling in human platelets was investigated with a new instrument that simultaneously monitors aggregation and secretion in the same sample of plateletrich plasma. When platelets were stimulated by high concentrations of ADP, secretion began only after aggregation was almost complete. With lower concentrations of ADP or with epinephrine, biphasic aggregation was observed, and secretion began simultaneously with, or slightly after, the second phase of aggregation. When platelets were stimulated with high concentrations of gamma-thrombin or A23187, secretion and aggregation began essentially together. With very low concentrations of gamma-thrombin or A23187, biphasic aggregation was observed with secretion paralleling the second phase. At every concentration of collagen, secretion and aggregation appeared to be parallel events. Under every condition where the beginning of secretion lagged behind aggregation, secretion was dependent upon aggregation and was inhibited by indomethacin; this is referred to as aggregation-mediated platelet activation. When secretion began at the same time as aggregation, it also occurred in the absence of aggregation and was not blocked by indomethacin; this is referred to as directly induced platelet activation. These observations are consistent with a simple model of platelet stimulus-response coupling that includes two mechanisms for activation; aggregation-mediated activation is inhibited by indomethacin, while direct activation does not depend upon aggregation and is not inhibited by indomethacin. Secretion and second wave aggregation appear to be parallel events, with little evidence for second wave aggregation being a consequence of secretion as usually described.

Adenosine Diphosphate↗
PubMed1976

Equilibrium binding of thrombin to platelets.

Binding of human [125I]thrombin to washed human platelets was studied in order to analyze the nonenzymic aspects of the thrombin stimulation of platelets. Highly purified alpha-thrombin that was iodinated with lactoperoxidase retained full clotting and esterase activities and full activity toward platelets, was not distinguished from native thrombin by sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis or gel chromatography, and bound to platelets the same as unlabeled thrombin. Bound and free [125I]thrombin were measured after rapid separation of platelets from the suspending medium by centrifugation through oil. Maximum binding was within 15 s, the shortest time measured. At concentrations of thrombin sufficient to cause less than maximal platelet stimulation, 90% of the total thrombin was free in the suspending solutions. Equilibrium binding was established, with both free thrombin and free platelets retaining activity, and with rapid reequilibration after dilution or addition of unlabeled thrombin. The equilibrium was complex, with the apparent number of binding sites and dissociation constants dependent on thrombin concentration. Analysis of bound thrombin as a function of thrombin concentration by double-reciprocal and Scatchard plots indicated 300-400 high affinity sites (Kdiss = 1.8-2 nM); these correlate with thrombin stimulation of Ca2+ secretion, which shows half maximal effect at 1.5 nM thrombin and maximal effect with 500-600 thrombins bound per platelet.

Binding Sites↗
PubMed1975

Regulation of platelet phosphorylase.

A sensitive fluorimetric enzyme assay was developed for study of activation of glycogen phosphorylase (EC 2.4.1.1) in intact platelets and in platelet extracts. Activity was calculated as AMP independent (activity in the absence of AMP), total (activity in the presence of 1 mM AMP), and AMP dependent (difference between AMP independent and total). The following observations were made with intact rat platelets. (1) Stimulation of platelets with thrombin caused a 7-fold increase in total activity, with increases in both AMP-dependent and AMP-independent activities. Maximum activation was obtained within 10 s after addition of thrombin. (2) The divalent cation ionophore A23187 caused a similar, though less pronounced, activation of phosphorylase. (3) Acceleration of glycogenolysis by inhibition of respiration with cyanide caused similar changes in phosphorylase activity but with the maximum effect observed only after 45 s. (4) Dibutyryl cyclic AMP had two effects; it partially activated phosphorylase and blocked further activation by thrombin, but not A23187. Similar effects were observed with human platelets, but low resting levels of phosphorylase activity could not be maintained so that changes were not as large as with rat platelets. Experiments with extracts of rat platelets gave the following results. (1) Phosphorylase activity in many extracts of non-stimulated platelets could be increased by incubation with Mg2+-ATP and Ca2+; ethyleneglycol-bis-(beta-aminoethylether)-N,N'-tetraacetic acid (EGTA) partially inhibited. (2) In some extracts there was essentially no activation by incubation with Mg2+-ATP and Ca2+, but addition of cyclic AMP GAVE PARTIAL ACTIVATIon while addition of rabbit muscle phosphorylase kinase gave full activation. (3) Incubation of extracts of thrombin-stimulated platelets caused conversion of AMP-dependent to AMP-indeptndent activity. It is concluded that platelet phosphorylase exists in an inactive and two active forms. Conversion of the inactive to the active forms and of the AMP-dependent to the AMP-independent form is catalyzed by a kinase(s) that requires Ca2+ for full activity and is activated through a cyclic AMP-mediated process. The major change following physiological stimulation is an increase in both active forms, with little change in their ratio.

Animals↗
PubMed1975

Platelet stimulation by thrombin and other proteases.

The mechanism of stimulation of platelets by thrombin and other proteases was studied by following kinetics of secretion of Ca2+ or ATP. The progress-time curves of secretion were analyzed for rate and total amount released. The reaction of thrombin was perturbed by addition of hydroxylamine or a competitive inhibitor and by variation of pH and it was compared with the reactions of other proteases. Trypsin and papain, with specificities for arginyl residues, induced secretion with a time course that was nearly identical with that induced by thrombin when saturating levels of enzyme were used. At low levels of enzyme, trypsin and papain gave extended lags in the progress-time curves. Higher concentrations of trypsin and papain were required for saturation of the measured parameters. Human plasmin (lysly specificity) and bovine chymotrypsin (aromatic amino acid specificity) failed to induce platelet secretion. Active site inhibited thrombin was also ineffective. Both yield and kinetics depended on pH, with the pH profile for each enzyme similar to its profile for hydrolysis of synthetic substrates. Studies at low pH also showed that the early part of the reaction undergoes a change in rate-determining step from enzyme dependent at low enzyme to enzyme indepdenent at high enzyme. Hydroxylamine, a nucleophile that would be expected to accelerate hydrolytic reactions, actually decreased both the rate of initial reactions and yield. A competitive inhibitor of thrombin also decreased both rate and yield; a calculated inhibition constant was in agreement with the value for a synthetic substrate, suggesting that the interaction of thrombin with platelets is analogous to reaction with substrates. A modification of our previous model is proposed in order to accommodate the results described here and to reaoncile the apparent contradictions that enzyme was found not to turn over in the reaction (Detwiler, T. C., and Feinman, R. D. (1973), Biochemistry 12, 282), that catalytic activity is required (Davey, M. G., and Luscher, E. F. (1967), Nature (London) 216, 875; this paper), and that the reaction is characterized by an apparent equilibrium binding (Tollefsen, D. M., Feagler J. R., and Majerus, P. W. (1974), J. Biol. Chem. 249, 2646). The essential feature is a reversible catalytic step with no dissociation of enzyme from product. This is followed by irreversible, thrombin-independent platelet processes leading to secretion, with yield dependent on the equilibrium concentration of the thrombin product. The model thus has aspects of catalysis, stoichiometry, and an agonist-receptor equilibrium.

Adenosine Triphosphate↗
PubMed1975

Stimulus-secretion coupling in platelets. Effects of drugs on secretion on adenosine 5'-triphosphate.

The mechanism of stimulus-secretion coupling in platelets was investigated by observing the effects of drugs on the kinetics on ATP secretion induced by either thrombin or the divalent cation ionophore A23187. The actual secretion is the same with either of these agents, since the rate constants and activation energies of secretion are the same and since drugs that affect the final, enzyme-independent steps of thrombin-induced secretion have the same effect on ionophore-induced secretion. Drugs that affect early steps of thrombin-induced secretion have no effect on ionophore-induced secretion. Drugs that act through cAMP (PGE1, theophylline, dibutyryl-cAMP) slow an early step in the mechanism of thrombin-induced secretion and completely block at higher levels, with the required concentration of inhibitor dependent on thrombin concentration. The inhibition of rate appears to be all-or-none, with no intermediate rates observed. By replacing thrombin with trypsin, which makes it possible to observe a complete change in rate-determining step from an enzyme-dependent to an enzyme-independent platelet step, it was found that these drugs slow the rate only when the enzyme-independent step is rate determining. These drugs have no effect on A23187-induced secretion. It was concluded that cAMP inhibits at a step after the enzyme step but before the final step by interfering with transmission of the stimulus-secretion coupling signal. Disruption of microfilament function by cytochalasin B (10 muM) accelerates the rate of secretion induced by either thrombin or ionophore. The microtubule agents colchicine, vinblastine, and vincristine had effects only at concentrations above those usually considered necessary for the specific inhibition of microtubule function. Drugs that inhibit prostaglandin synthesis (aspirin, indomethacin, eicosatetraynoic acid), drugs that block ATP production (antimycin A, deoxyglucose), or several other drugs previously reported to inhibit platelet function had no effect on secretion.

Adenosine Triphosphate↗
PubMed1975

Localization of a thrombin-sensitive calcium pool in platelets.

Electron microscopic x-ray microprobe analysis of pyroantimonate precipitates in platelets fixed in osmium tetroxide-pyroantimonate revealed calcium localization in the nucleoids of alpha-granules. This pool of calcium had largely disappeared within 10 sec after stimulation of platelets by thrombin. Such a rapid change suggests that this calcium pool may have a regulatory role in stimulus-response coupling.

Animals↗