Ultrastructural studies of the gray platelet syndrome

The gray platelet syndrome (GPS) is a rare inherited disorder in which peripheral blood platelets are relatively large, vacuolated, and almost devoid of cytoplasmic granulation. In the present study we have evaluated the ultrastructure and cytochemistry of platelets from 2 patients with the GPS to determine precisely which organelles are missing from their cells. The findings indicate that gray platelets contain normal numbers of mitochondria, dense bodies, peroxisomes, and lysosomes but specifically lack alpha-granules. Preliminary studies of megakaryocytes from 1 of the 2 patients suggest that the defect in granule formation may lie at the level of the Golgi zone.