Platelet aggregation and ATP secretion in whole blood of normal cats and cats homozygous and heterozygous for Chediak-Higashi syndrome.

A rapid and simple technique using the Whole Blood Lumi-Aggregometer was used to study storage pool disease in Chediak-Higashi homozygote and heterozygote cats. Feline Chedlak-Higashi platelets aggregated after the addition of both ADP and collagen. During platelet aggregation, ATP secretion was assayed; the whole blood aggregometer is effective in detecting decreased levels of secretable ATP in homozygote cats. No storage pool deficiency was found in heterozygote cats. However, upon analysis of impedance tracings, a decreased platelet aggregation response was seen in both homozygote and heterozygote cats. These results suggest that prolonged bleeding times in Chediak-Higashi cats may involve a mechanism in addition to a dense granule deficiency.