Effects of leptospiral lipopolysaccharide on rabbit platelets.

Leptospiral lipopolysaccharides (LPSs) extracted from Leptospira interrogans serovar copenhageni virulent strain Shibaura, serovar canicola virulent strain Moulton, and serovar hebdomadis strain Hebdomadis, were tested for their ability to induce platelet aggregation and/or lysis in rabbit platelet-rich plasma (PRP). All showed positive reactions with a release of adenosine triphosphate (ATP) and serotonin. The values, however, were different from each other. The ability of leptospiral LPS extracted from serovar copenhageni virulent strain Shibaura (I-LPS) to induce platelet aggregation was the highest of all. After treatment of I-LPS, the platelets developed a ruffled surface with appearance of pseudopodia as observed by transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). I-LPS also showed cytotoxicity for the platelets. Degenerative or lytic changes were recognized in 44.5% of the platelets which were observed 60 min after I-LPS treatment.