Platelet volume and intraplatelet adenine nucleotides in various hematologic disorders.

By recent advanced techniques, blood platelets have proved to be varied in size and metabolism in various hematologic disorders. We examined platelet volume and intraplatelet adenine nucleotides in 36 patients with various hematologic disorders in order to clarify the quantitative platelet abnormalities. Platelet volumes were smaller in patients with acute leukemia and aplastic anemia, and larger in patients with immune thrombocytopenic purpura (ITP). The amount of intraplatelet ADP was decreased and ATP/ADP ratio was increased in acute leukemia, aplastic anemia and myeloproliferative disorders (MPD), which strongly suggested the presence of storage pool deficiency in these patients. Intraplatelet ADP per volume was decreased in acute leukemia, aplastic anemia and MPD, and ATP per volume was decreased in aplastic anemia. ATP content was increased in ITP in proportion to the increased platelet volume. These parameters were examined in 36 patients with the following hematologic disorders: 7 acute leukemia treated with cytotoxic chemotherapy, 5 aplastic anemia, 3 paroxysmal nocturnal hemoglobinuria (PNH), 9 immune thrombocytopenic purpura (ITP), 5 hypersplenism and 7 myeloproliferative disorders (MPD).