Effect of the binding of anti-Zwa antibodies on platelet function.

Anti-Zwa antibodies can induce a Glanzmann-like platelet dysfunction in normal Zwa-positive platelets. Although a normal shape change and release reaction was always recorded in response to adenosine diphosphate and collagen, the aggregation on these inducers could be completely inhibited by anti-Zwa antibodies. Analogous to the platelets from patients with Glanzmann's thrombasthenia, normal platelets sensitized with anti-Zwa did not associate with fibrinogen upon exposure to adenosine diphosphate. Our data indicate that the binding site for fibrinogen is closely associated with the Zwa-antigenic determinants on the platelet membrane glycoproteins and thus with glycoprotein IIIa which is known to carry Zwa.