Phosphoinositide metabolism in resting and thrombin‐stimulated human platelets Evidence against metabolic heterogeneity

Abstract

The specific radioactivity of the phosphodiester and phosphomonoester moieties of the phosphoinositides was determined in resting and thrombin-stimulated platelets that were prelabelled with [32P] Pi. In the unstimulated cells, the specific radioactivity of the monoester phosphates of PIP and PIP2 was similar. Both prolonged incubation at 37 degrees C and upon stimulation with 0.5 U/ml of thrombin, the specific radioactivity of the monoester phosphates decreased 10-15% in both polyphosphoinositides. In the unstimulated cells, the specific radioactivity of the diester phosphates was similar in PI, PIP and PIP2 but amounted only to 3% of the activity of the monoester groups. Prolonged incubation of the unstimulated cells as well as stimulation with thrombin induced a similar 5-6 fold increase in specific radioactivity of the diester phosphate of PI, PIP and PIP2. The results indicate that the phosphoinositides in both resting and thrombin-stimulated platelets exist in a metabolically homogeneous pool.