Platelet adhesiveness and cancer cell stickiness: a comparative study.

Comparing platelet adhesiveness and cancer cell stickiness under the conditions of the so-called Fibre test showed that: 1. Platelets aggregate in the first few seconds only, whereas Yoshida sarcoma cells accumulate continuously. 2. Platelets show a characteristic velocity profile. Platelet adhesiveness shows a maximum at a velocity of 7 cm/sec. Yoshida sarcoma cells adhere better at low flow velocity. 3. An experimentally induced electric current (streaming electric current) of ca. 40 mV augments platelet adhesiveness to twice the basal value, whereas Yoshida sarcoma cells remain uninfluenced by the current. These results suggest an interaction between platelets and vessel wall, whereas Yoshida sarcoma cells adhere passively.