The measurement of platelet activation by radioimmunoassay in asthma

Radioimmunoassay with specific monoclonal antibody was used to evaluate the platelet activation in 14 cases of acute bronchial asthma. The result showed that the number of molecules of alpha-granule membrane protein (GMP-140) which was exposed on the surface of platelet following secretion significantly increased on the surface of platelet and in plasma, while the number of molecules of glycoprotein (GP) Ib and GPIIIa did not change significantly; the concentration of thromboxane B2 in plasma was raised, while the concentration of 6-keto-PGF1a was within the normal limits; the concentrations of β-thromboglobulin (β-TG) and platelet factor 4(PF4) in plasma increased significantly; the number of platelets decreased. These results strongly confirmed that the degree of platelet activation was enhanced during acute asthmatic attack. The significance of platelet activation in the pathogenesis of asthma should be further investigated