Effects of thrombocytopenia on monocrotaline pyrrole-induced pulmonary hypertension

Monocrotaline pyrrole (MCTP) causes lung injury, pulmonary hypertension, and right ventricular hypertrophy in rats. To determine if platelets are involved in the cardiopulmonary effects of MCTP, the response to MCTP was determined in thrombocytopenic rats. Blood platelet count was reduced to 10-20% of normal for 48 h by ip administration of an antirat platelet serum (PAS) prepared in the goat. Rats were treated iv with either MCTP 5 mg/kg or dimethylformamide vehicle and with either PAS or preimmune serum. Fourteen days after MCTP, right ventricular hypertrophy and several indexes of lung injury were measured. MCTP treatment produced right ventricular hypertrophy, increased lactate dehydrogenase activity and protein concentration in bronchopulmonary lavage fluid, increased perfusion pressure in isolated lungs, and decreased pulmonary clearance and metabolism of perfused 5-hydroxytryptamine. Thrombocytopenia did not influence the changes in these indexes of lung injury produced by MCTP in this protocol. When PAS was given 12 h before MCTP, it did not affect right ventricular hypertrophy, but when PAS treatment was begun 3 or 6 days after MCTP, right ventricular hypertrophy was decreased by 19 or 41%, respectively. These results suggest that platelets help to mediate the development of pulmonary hypertension and the hypertrophic response of the right heart following MCTP administration.