Complement (C3) binding to platelets in autoimmune thrombocytopenia.

In view of conflicting reports on the occurrence of complement binding to platelets in idiopathic autoimmune thrombocytopenic purpura (AITP) we performed measurements of platelet bound C3 in patients with AITP who had elevated levels of platelet bound IgG. Using a quantitative antiglobulin consumption technique 38 out of 42 patients were found to have fixed abnormally large amounts of C3 to their platelets, and a significant positive correlation between the amounts of platelet bound IgG and C3 was shown to exist. In additional experiments antibody eluates were prepared from AITP platelets and were shown to cause the fixation of C3 to normal donor platelets in vitro. Taken together these findings strongly suggest that the C3 binding in AITP is specifically related to the disease process.