Toxicology and applied pharmacology
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Toxicol. Appl. Pharmacol. · Apr 1987
5-Hydroxytryptamine and thromboxane in platelets from rats treated with monocrotaline pyrrole.
Monocrotaline pyrrole (MCTP), a metabolite of the plant toxin monocrotaline, produces pulmonary vascular injury, pulmonary hypertension, and right ventricular enlargement (RVE) in rats by an unknown mechanism. A role for platelets has been suggested by the observation that antibody-induced thrombocytopenia reduces the RVE caused by MCTP. The platelet can release a number of vasoconstrictive agents, such as 5-hydroxytryptamine (5HT) and thromboxane A2 (TxA2), that could possibly contribute to pulmonary hypertension. ⋯ At concentrations up to 250 micrograms/ml, MCTP added in vitro to PRP from untreated rats did not affect the concentration of TxB2 released during aggregation induced by arachidonic acid. Only at very high concentrations (1 mg/ml) did MCTP abolish the aggregation response and depress TxB2 release in PRP. These results indicate that MCTP treatment does not affect platelet 5HT content and does not affect basal TxB2 production or TxB2 release by platelets stimulated in vitro.