An investigation of fibrin-platelet adhesive interactions by microfluorimetry

Interactions between human blood platelets and fibrin have been visualized by light microscopy, and quantitative details of the extent, rate and specificity of fibrin-platelet binding obtained by microfluorimetry. Adhesion of fluorescein-labelled fibrin to activated platelets yielded brightly fluorescent fibrin-platelet aggregates, which emitted light at an intensity 4-7-fold greater than that due to nonspecific association of fluorescein-fibrin with unstimulated fixed cells. The intensity of fluorescent light emitted from fibrin-platelet aggregates increased as a function of time, reaching a plateau after about 1 h under physiological buffer and temperature conditions. Two monoclonal antibodies directed against the glycoprotein IIb-IIIa complex, which have been shown to inhibit the binding of fibrinogen and soluble fibrin oligomers to ADP-stimulated platelets, were employed to further probe the specificity of this adhesive interaction. In contrast to the results with the soluble ligands, one of these antibodies (HP1-1D) was capable of fully inhibiting the attachment of fluorescent fibrin to ADP-activated cells while the other (AP-2) was much less effective.