Protein and glycoprotein abnormalities in platelets from human Chediak-Higashi syndrome: polyacrylamide gel electrophoretic study of platelets from five patients.

Polyacrylamide electrophoretic analysis of proteins and Tritium-labelled glycoproteins of the platelets from five patients with Chediak-Higashi Syndrome shows the existence of marked quantitative differences when compared to normal platelets. While the glycoprotein abnormalities are solely related to the plasma membrane, some of the abnormalities detected in the Coomasie blue pattern are probably representative of defects related to the dense bodies and the alpha-granules. Some of the abnormalities found may, in part, explain the variability of aggregatory responses described in these patients, as well as the marked tendency towards desaggregation exhibited by platelets from humans with the Chediak-Higashi Syndrome.