Movement of sodium into human platelets.

Addition of ADP induces platelets in plasma to undergo shape change from a disc to a spiny sphere and to develope adhesiveness, i.e. to aggregate. The aggregation of human platelets by ADP is associated with a net uptake of Na+. The present experiments demonstrate that the induction of shape change by ADP in acidified or EGTA-treated plasma conditions which inhibit aggregation, is also associated with a movement of Na+ into platelets. When ADP-induced platelet shape change and aggregation is inhibited by prostaglandin E1 Na+ uptake is also blocked. Platelets aggregated by epinephrine do not take up Na+. In a manner analogous to the effect of ADP, polylysine also induces Na+ uptake during aggregation. Vasopressin, in a manner analogous to epinephrine, induces aggregation without Na+ uptake. The increase in platelet Na+ resulting from ouabain inhibition of Na+ efflux induces an increase in the aggregation response to ADP and to epinephrine.