Studies of the origin of platelet-associated fibrinogen.

Platelet membranes and whole platelet preparations were examined by crossed immunoelectrophoresis in normal individuals, in a patient with congenital afibrinogenemia, and in two unrelated patients with Glanzmann's thrombasthenia (types I and II) to study the origin of platelet-associated fibrinogen. Results indicate: (1) platelet and plasma fibrinogen are probably derived from the same gene product, (2) platelet fibrinogen is not derived from the surrounding plasma milieu, (3) under basal conditions, platelet fibrinogen is located only within the alpha-granules and not on the platelet surface, (4) addition of trypsin to fibrinogen uncovers either a neoantigen or a hidden pool of platelet fibrinogen in the alpha-granules, (5) platelets from two patients with Glanzmann's thrombasthenia contain near-normal quantities of fibrinogen.