Secretory phospholipase A2 is not required for arachidonic acid liberation during platelet activation.

The subcellular localization of secretory phospholipase A2 (sPLA2) and cytosolic phospholipase A2 (cPLA2) in resting and activated platelets, and their involvement in arachidonic acid liberation during platelet activation, were studied. The amounts of sPLA2 and cPLA2 recovered were not modified during platelet activation. sPLA2 was mainly associated with the organelles of resting platelets (71% of total activity) and was released into the extracellular medium during cell activation (60% of total activity), whereas the majority of cPLA2 was localized in the cytosol of resting and activated platelets. The secretion of sPLA2 correlated with the release of ATP. sPLA2-depleted platelets aggregated as much as control platelets and produced similar amounts of thromboxane B2 upon thrombin activation. These results indicate that sPLA2 is not involved in the liberation of arachidonic acid during platelet activation.