Alpha 2-adrenoreceptor status of human platelet subpopulations separated by continuous flow electrophoresis.

Human platelets were separated into subpopulations using continuous flow electrophoresis, which uses electrophoretic mobility as the separative parameter. The platelets with the greatest electrophoretic mobility showed higher amounts of total sialic acid than the less electrophoretically mobile subpopulation (74.3 +/- 18.2 nmol/10(9) platelets vs. 49.2 +/- 20.1 nmol/10(9) platelets, p < 0.05 paired Student's t-test). Furthermore, neuraminidase-labile sialic acid was also elevated in the more electrophoretically mobile platelet subpopulation (29.1 +/- 6.0 nmol/10(9) platelets vs. 21.8 +/- 10.4 nmol/10(9) platelets, p < 0.05 paired Student's t-test). We also found that the sialic acid enriched platelet subpopulation had more alpha 2-adrenoreceptors than the less electrophoretically mobile platelets (457 +/- 104 vs. 302 +/- 164 receptors per cell, p < 0.05 paired Student's t-test).