Increased Synthesis of Prostaglandin-E-like Material by Platelets from Patients with Diabetes Mellitus

Abstract

We studied the effects of ADP, epinephrine, collagen and arachidonic acid on platelet production of immunoreactive prostaglandin-E-like material and aggregation in 17 subjects with diabetes mellitus and 21 matched controls. platelet-rich plasma obtained from patients synthesized significantly (P<0.05) greater quantities of the prostaglandin-E-like material after exposure to 1 μM ADP, 1, 2 and 5 μM epinephrine and 1 μg per milliliter of collagen than platelet-rich plasma obtained from controls. That obtained from the diabetic patients was significantly more sensitive (P<0.001) to the aggregating effects of the prostaglandin precursor, arachidonic acid, in vitro as compared to controls. Diabetic platelet-rich plasma metabolized arachidonic acid (0.5 mM) to immunoreactive prostaglandin-E-like material at a significantly greater rate (P<0.05) and extent (P<0.001) than that of controls. Thus, platelets obtained from diabetic patients possess increased activity of the prostaglandin synthetase system, and this characteristic may be related to the increased platelet aggregation associated with the disease. (N Engl J Med 297:1306–1310, 1977)