Morphological aspects of ferrous salts-induced lipid peroxidation and platelet aggregation in human blood.

This is a study of the effect that reactive oxygen species (ROS) have on blood platelet aggregation, lipid peroxidation and external morphology (scanning electron microscopy) of human platelets. The induction of ROS was brought about by the incubation of ferrous salts. The production of ROS produced a state of morphological preactivation without actually producing platelet aggregation, while the joint incubation of the ferrous salts with threshold concentrations of arachidonic acid produced an increase of the latter, causing complete platelet aggregation, biochemically as well as morphologically.