Inhibition of fibrinogen receptor-mediated platelet aggregation by heterologous anti-human platelet membrane antibody. Significance of an Mr = 66,000 protein derived from glycoprotein IIIa.

Heterologous anti-human platelet membrane antisera were raised in rabbits against membranes prepared from human intact or chymotrypsin- or pronase-treated platelets. Anti-intact, anti-chymotrypsin, and anti-pronase-treated platelet membrane antibodies (IgG and Fab fragments) inhibited the fibrinogen-induced aggregation of ADP-stimulated platelets and of chymotrypsin-treated platelets. The specific binding of 125I-fibrinogen to these platelets was also inhibited. As revealed by the sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis of 125I-surface-radiolabeled platelet proteins and by the electrophoresis of the immunoprecipitates prepared from these labeled proteins, predominant components on the surface of intact platelets were glycoproteins IIb and IIIa. These proteins were immunoprecipitated by all three antibodies. In addition, chymotrypsin-treated platelets contained an Mr = 66,000 protein on their surface that was also immunoprecipitated by the three types of anti-platelet membrane antibodies. The appearance of this Mr = 66,000 protein on the surface of chymotrypsin-treated platelets correlated with the exposure of fibrinogen receptors on the platelet surface as evidenced by the increased platelet aggregation and the enhanced 125I-fibrinogen binding shown by chymotrypsin-treated platelets. The origin of the Mr = 66,000 protein labeled on chymotrypsin-treated platelets was studied by first labeling intact platelets with 125I and then treating these platelets with chymotrypsin. Analysis by sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis of the total labeled proteins present after chymotrypsin treatment and those immunoprecipitated by anti-pronase-treated platelet membrane antibody from detergent extracts of chymotrypsin-treated platelets suggested that the Mr = 66,000 protein was a proteolytic cleavage product of glycoprotein IIIa. Analysis on sodium dodecyl sulfate gels of the major chymotryptic cleavage products of partially purified glycoprotein IIIa and analysis of the peptide of glycoprotein IIIa immunoprecipitated by anti-pronase-treated platelet membrane antibody revealed that the Mr = 66,000 protein produced by chymotrypsin on the platelet surface was the major chymotryptic cleavage product of glycoprotein IIIa. We propose a hypothesis that the Mr = 66,000 is a part of glycoprotein IIIa present on the surface of proteolytically treated platelets and it may function in fibrinogen binding and fibrinogen-induced platelet aggregation and that the 66,000-dalton region of glycoprotein IIIa in intact platelets may represent the fibrinogen-binding domain of glycoprotein IIIa.