In vitro stimulation of monocyte tissue factor activity by autologous platelets.

Washed human platelets were found to enhance phytohemagglutinin (PHA)-stimulated tissue factor (TF) synthesis when incubated with autologous mononuclear cell cultures. Furthermore, platelets increased TF synthesis even when no other stimulator was present during the incubation. Experiments utilizing similar cultures derived from blood of patients with Glanzmann's disease, von Willebrand's disease, and platelet storage pool disease indicated that platelets with each of these genetic defects possessed the capacity to enhance the synthesis of this initiator of coagulation by unstimulated cells as did normal platelets. The degree of platelet enhancement varied between individuals, but for any given donor, the extent of the effect depended on the concentration of platelets used. The effect was demonstrable at platelet/monocyte ratios ranging from a low of approximately 15 to the highest ratio used, about 300. For comparison the ratio of these two cellular elements in normal human blood is estimated to be approximately 1,000. These findings may reflect a relationship between these two cell types that can occur in vivo.