Prostanoids and hemostasis in chickens: anti-aggregating activity of prostaglandins E1 and E2, but not of prostacyclin and prostaglandin D2.

Aggregation of chicken thrombocytes was studied in whole blood using an electronic aggregometer. Serotonin (5-hydroxytryptamine, 5HT), arachidonic acid (AA) and collagen, but not adenosinediphosphate (ADP) induced aggregation. Prostaglandin (PG) endoperoxides were essential for arachidonic acid-induced aggregation, but were not involved in 5HT-induced aggregation, as indicated by inhibitory studies with indomethacin. Similar experiments indicated that biosynthesis of endogenous PG endoperoxides contributed to the aggregation induced by low concentrations of collagen, but was of little importance when high collagen doses were employed. PGE1 and PGE2 could abolish all types of aggregation studied, whereas prostacyclin (PGI2) and PGD2 were without any anti-aggregatory activity at 1 microgram/ml. Between 1 and 100 ng/ml PGE1 and PGE2 inhibited arachidonic acid- and 5HT-induced aggregation dose-dependently. The lack of any hemostatic function of PGI2 in chickens was also indicated by the absence of biosynthesis of endogenous PGI2 in chicken aorta. PGI2 was assessed as anti-aggregating activity, released by aortic fragments stirred in rabbit platelet rich plasma. Still, the presence of chicken aorta tissue in chicken whole blood inhibited 5HT-, but not arachidonic acid-induced aggregation. This inhibition was not affected by pretreatment of the aortic fragments with indomethacin or pargyline.