Reassessment of protein tyrosine phosphorylation in thrombasthenic
platelets: evidence that phosphorylation of cortactin and a 64-kD protein
is dependent on thrombin activation and integrin alphaIIb beta3
JP Rosa, V Artcanuthurry, F Grelac, J Maclouf, JP Caen and S Levy-Toledano
INSERM Unite 348, IFR Circulation-Lariboisiere and IVS, Hopital
Lariboisiere, Paris, France.
Tyrosine phosphorylation of a number of platelet proteins is dependent on
platelet integrin alphaIIb beta3 (also termed GPIIb-IIIa) and its
engagement in aggregation. For instance, in type I thrombasthenic
platelets, which lack alphaIIb beta3 and do not aggregate, several
substrates are either poorly or not phosphorylated. We have compared
thrombasthenic platelets of type I, type II (15% alphaIIb beta3,
functional), and variant type (50% alphaIIb beta3, no fibrinogen binding).
The platelets from the three patients exhibited the same low tyrosine
phosphorylation profiles, confirming the key role of functional alphaIIb
beta3 in initiating protein tyrosine phosphorylation. We noted that in
addition to the characteristic absence of the 100 to 105 kD doublet, a 77
to 80 kD doublet and to a lesser extent a 64-kD band, exhibited low
phosphorylation kinetics, but with normal initial phosphorylation rates (up
to 60 seconds). Similar results were obtained by inhibition of thrombin
aggregation of control platelets by alphaIIb beta3 antagonists (the RGDS
peptide or the monoclonal antibody 10E5), or in the absence of stirring
(fibrinogen binding, but no aggregation). These results suggest that
tyrosine phosphorylation of the 77 to 80 kD doublet, identified by
immunoprecipitation as the cytoskeletal protein cortactin, and the 64 kD
band are dependent both on thrombin activation during early steps and on
the late steps of alphaIIb beta3 engagement in aggregation. Implications as
to involvement of step-specific kinase and/or phosphatase activities are
discussed.
Volume 89,
Issue 12,
pp. 4385-4392,
06/15/1997
Copyright © 1997 by The American Society of Hematology