Blood, 1 February 2002, Vol. 99, No. 3, pp. 905-911
HEMOSTASIS, THROMBOSIS, AND VASCULAR BIOLOGY
Lineage-specific defect in gene expression in human platelet
phospholipase C-
2 deficiency
Guang Fen Mao,
Vijender R. Vaidyula,
Satya P. Kunapuli, and
A. Koneti Rao
From the Sol Sherry Thrombosis Research Center, and the
Departments of Medicine and Physiology, Temple University School of
Medicine, Philadelphia, PA.
Phospholipase C (PLC)-
2 plays a major role in platelet
activation. Previous studies have described a unique patient
with impaired receptor-mediated platelet aggregation, secretion,
calcium mobilization, and phospholipase C (PLC) activation associated with a selective decrease in platelet PLC-
2 isozyme. To
identify the mechanisms leading to the defect, platelet RNA from the
patient and healthy subjects was subjected to reverse
transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) and the products
sequenced. The PLC-
2 cDNA sequence in the patient showed no
abnormalities. Platelet PLC-
2 and
-actin (internal control) mRNA
levels were assessed by RT-PCR; the ratio of PLC-
2 to
-actin mRNA
levels was 0.80 to 0.95 in 4 healthy subjects and 0.28 in the patient.
PLC-
2 mRNA levels were similarly reduced compared with GPIIb and
G
q mRNA levels. PLC-
2 and platelet factor 4 mRNA levels were
normal. Calcium mobilization was studied in neutrophils upon activation with formyl-Met-Leu-Phe (fMLP), adenosine diphosphate (ADP),
platelet-activating factor (PAF), interleukin-8 (IL-8), C5a, and
leukotriene B4 (LTB4), and it was normal.
Neutrophil elastase secretion upon activation with fMLP, ADP, PAF,
IL-8, C5a, and LTB4 was normal, as were neutrophil PLC-
2
mRNA and PLC-
2 on immunoblotting. Thus, responses to activation, PLC-
2 protein, and PLC-
2 mRNA are decreased in patient platelets but not in neutrophils, providing evidence for a hitherto undescribed lineage (platelet)-specific defect in PLC-
2 gene expression. These
studies provide a physiologically relevant model to delineate regulation of PLC-
2 gene and its tissue-specific expression.