Use of bi-level biotinylation for concurrent measurement of in vivo recovery and survival in two rabbit platelet populations.

BACKGROUND

The objectives of this research were 1) to determine whether two populations of platelets may be labeled with different levels of biotin and followed concurrently in vivo by flow cytometry and 2) to determine whether the level of biotinylation affects the in vivo platelet recovery and survival.

STUDY DESIGN AND METHODS

Two platelet aliquots were biotinylated under conditions that resulted in either a lower or a higher number of biotin molecules per platelet. After transfusion, the two populations were distinguished and quantitated by flow cytometry.

RESULTS

In five animals, recoveries were 69.8 +/- 27.0 percent for low-biotin platelets and 72.6 +/- 26.7 percent for high-biotin platelets. For each animal, the recoveries agreed closely. Life span, determined by the multiple-hit method, was 2.68 +/- 0.63 days for low-biotin platelets and 2.58 +/- 0.69 days for high-biotin platelets. These values for recovery and life span are consistent with those measured in rabbits by using radioisotope labels.

CONCLUSION

Platelet biotinylation offers a nonisotopic method for direct comparison of alternative harvest and storage conditions. It also offers the potential for simultaneous evaluation of the in vivo characteristics of platelets from at least two donors.