Expression of fibrinogen receptors and GPIIb molecules on uraemic platelets: effect of recombinant human erythropoietin therapy.

In 14 chronic uraemic patients on regular haemodialysis treatment mean numbers of fibrinogen (Fg) receptors and glycoprotein IIb (GPIIb) molecules on one blood platelet were 8370 +/- 1282 and 15,694 +/- 2102 respectively, and they were significantly lowered in comparison with those found in 14 healthy persons (37,826 +/- 966 and 57,994 +/- 6824 respectively). A high positive correlation was found between numbers of GPIIb molecules and those of Fg receptors both in chronic uraemic patients and healthy subjects. Four-month treatment of haemodialysis patients with recombinant human erythropoietin (rHuEpo) induced significant rises in haematocrit from 22.3 +/- 1.2 to 31.2 +/- 1.7%, blood platelet count from 164,000 +/- 27,000/microliters to 206,000 +/- 16,000/microliters and mean platelet volume from 7.08 +/- 0.29 fl to 8.26 +/- 0.22 fl. However, in haemodialysis patients numbers of the investigated surface platelet receptors, measured at 8 and 16 week of rHuEpo treatment, remained unchanged.