Characterization of platelets from normal mink and mink with the Chediak‐Higashi syndrome

Bleeding times of mink with the Chediak‐Higashi (CH) syndrome was markedly prolonged. Platelet counts were normal but there was an impaired platelet aggregation response to collagen. The metabolic adenine nucleotide pool of platelets from normal and CH mink was labeled with 14C‐adenine and the platelets were gel‐filtered. Gel‐filtered platelets (GFP) from CH mink contained only 37.9% of the adenosine triphosphate (ATP) and 9.6% of the adenosine diphosphate (ADP) found in normal platelets and the ATP/ADP ratio was similar to the 14C‐ATP/14C‐ADP ratio. Platelet content of Ca2+, Mg2+, and in particular 5‐hydroxytryptamine was decreased. When GFP were incubated with thrombin to induce maximal secretion, only negligible amounts of ATP and ADP were released. The specific activity of the extracellular nucleotides approximated that within the platelet. These findings suggest that the stored nucleotide pool in CH platelets is virtually absent and that the abnormalities in platelet function may be due, in part, to the essential absence of secretable ADP and serotonin. The release of Ca2+ and Mg2+ by CH platelets was 56% and 27.8% of normal, respectively.