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Effects of beta-endorphin and met-enkephalin on platelet activity
A Tirelli1, S Guastafierro, S Annunziata
1Department of Haematology, Transfusion Medicine and Transplant Immunology, Second University of Naples, Italy.
American Journal of Hematology
|September 18, 2001
Abstract:
In the present study, beta-endorphin and met-enkephalin were tested for their antiplatelet activity in human platelet-rich plasma (PRP). Blood samples were obtained from 15 healthy subjects. The results of the study show that these two endogenous opioids (200 pg/ml final concentration) reduce platelet aggregation when it is induced by ADP at low dose (0.5 microM). It is likely due to conformational changes on the platelet membrane that cause a non-specific decreased susceptibility to platelet-aggregating agonists.