Shortening of platelet survival by induced hypercholesterolaemia in rabbits and its prolongation by anagrelide
Barrett, P.A.; Butler, K.D.
Thrombosis and Haemostasis 50(3): 656-659
1983
ISSN/ISBN: 0340-6245 PMID: 6648889 Document Number: 212836
Induction of atherosclerosis in rabbits by feeding a cholesterol enriched diet reduced the platelet half-life in male rabbits from 37.0 .+-. 4.1 h to 30.1 .+-. 3.9 h (mean .+-. SD P .ltoreq. 0.01). Platelets from these animals exhibited increase sensitivity to arachidonic acid but decrease sensitivity to ADP. No significant change was found in aggregation to collagen or thrombin, or in the production of thromboxane B2 induced by collagen. The reduced platelet survival was dependent on the recipient animal and not the platelet donor. Platelets from cholesterol-fed animals survived normally in normal animals, whereas platelets from normal animals in cholesterol-fed animals had a reduced platelet survival even compared to platelets from cholesterol-fed animals. Some functional change apparently had occurred in the cholesterol platelet in response to its altered environment. Anagrelide (1 mg/kg per day) normalized shortened platelet survival in both male and female rabbits fed the high cholesterol diet.