ATP-ADP compartmentation in storage pool deficient platelets: correlation between granule-bound ADP and the bleeding time.

Platelets contain two major compartments of ATP and ADP, the cytosol and the dense granules. We separated the two compartments by controlled digitonin-induced cell lysis and measured both fractions directly in the platelets of 16 patients with storage pool deficiency. The total contents of ATP and ADP in the platelets of these patients was significantly lower than in normal controls. This was primarily caused by decreased amounts of ATP and ADP in the granule compartment, but also cytosolic ADP was low in these patients. In contrast, cytosolic ATP was not significantly decreased. The lower the amount of granule-bound ATP and ADP, the longer was the bleeding time in these patients. The best correlation was found with granule ADP. These data may indicate that ADP stored in platelet dense granules plays a role in the arrest of bleeding.