A note on the use of Quin2 in studying shear-induced platelet aggregation

Quin2, a calcium ion chelator which can penetrate plasma membranes, was used to study the role of intracellular calcium ion concentration in mediating shear-induced platelet activation. Washed platelet suspensions were subjected to various levels of uniform, known shear stress in a cone and plate viscometer in the absence of added agonists. Additional samples were aggregated in response to chemical platelet agonists in a conventional aggregometer. The aggregometer response of Quin2-containing platelets to collagen, thrombin and ADP exhibited increased lag time and reduced maximum rate of aggregation in comparison to controls. However, the extent of aggregation of the Quin2-containing platelets eventually reached the same level as that of the controls. Very different results were obtained for aggregation by shear stress in the viscometer. Shear-induced aggregation was significantly suppressed by Quin2 treatment at both short (30 seconds) and long (300 seconds) times of exposure to the shear field. Shear-induced dense granular release and cellular lysis were unaltered by Quin2 treatment at 30 second exposure times, but both were significantly increased by Quin2 treatment at 300 second exposure times. These results suggest that intracellular calcium ion mobilization is an important early step in shear-induced platelet activation. Additionally, Quin2 appears to have effects resulting in increased platelet fragility. Thus, the findings raise questions on the suitability of Quin2 as an intracellular calcium ion probe in studies in shear fields.