STUDIES ON THE IONOPHOROUS ANTIBIOTICS: VIII. EFFECTS OF MONOVALENT AND DIVALENT CATION IONOPHORES ON BLOOD PLATELETS

The effects of a monovalent cation ionophore etheromycin (CP-38295) and a divalent cation ionophore lysocellin on blood platelets function have been investigated. When platelets were incubated with 3 μM of each ionophore, the simultaneous induction of secretion of stored serotonin and efflux of intracellular calcium occurred, but there was no detectable influx of extracellular calcium. With increasing concentrations, these compounds caused platelet aggregation accompanied by increased influx of external calcium. These results are consistent with the hypothesis that the liberation of calcium from the intracellular store mediates the platelet secretion reaction.