Kinetics of Inhibition of ADP-Induced Platelet Aggregation by Dihomo-β-Linolenic Acid (DHLA).

Abstract

In the study of the effects on platelets of thromboxanes and prostaglandins (PG) large amounts of precursor fatty acids have frequently been added to platelet suspensions. In the case of DHLA, this results in a general inhibition of platelet reactions. We have employed kinetic analysis of the inhibition of ADP-induced primary platelet aggregation to estimate the potency, specificity and mode of action of DHLA on human platelets in citrated PRP. Platelet PG production was estimated from formation of malondialdehyde (MDA) and aspirin (ASA) was used to inhibit production-Inhibition of aggregation and MEA formation were dose-dependent and both were observed at DHLA concentrations of 0.1 mM and above. Inhibition of aggregation was of mixed type, consisting of an ASA-sensitive competitive component (K1 ≈ 0.2mM) and an ASA-insensitve component which was non-competitive and dominated inhibition at higher concentrations of DHLA. The KI (DHLA) of the non-competitive component varied from 0.4 to 1.5 mM with different batches of PRP. Other polyunsaturated fatty acids which are not PG precursors, did not cause competitive inhibition but were as potent as DHLA in the non-competitive inhibition of aggregation. The results show that a large part of the inhibition of platelet aggregation by DHLA in vitro is not due to its transformation into an inhibitor of platelet function in the PG production pathway.