Involvement of 5-hydroxytryptamine in platelet aggregation in vivo in rats and guinea pigs

In this study, 5-hydroxytryptamine (5-HT) caused a dose-dependent fall in the circulating platelet count suggesting that 5-HT receptors are activated in rat platelets to cause platelet adhesion and aggregation. When low doses of adenosine diphosphate (ADP) were simultaneously injected with 5-HT, there was a significant potentiation of the responses to ADP. Ketanserin significantly reduced the potentiated responses. When higher doses of ADP were infused with bolus injections of 5-HT there was no potentiation and ketanserin did not reduce these responses. Ketanserin did not inhibit the collagen-induced fall in circulating platelet count, but did significantly increase the rate of return to the basal platelet count compared with control. 5-HT did not cause a fall in platelet count in guinea-pigs.