Blood, 1960, Vol. 15, No. 5, pp. 596-605.
© 1960 American Society of Hematology, Inc.
Platelet and Fibrinogen Sequestration
EDWARD ADELSON 1,
JACK J. RHEINGOLD 1, and
OLIVE PARKER 1
1 Department of Medicine, George Washington University Medical School,
Washington, D. C.
1. Small amounts of thromboplastin intravenously cause platelet sequestration. This is followed by fibrinogen sequestration. Large doses of intravenously administered thromboplastin lead to irreversible destruction or utilization of platelets and fibrinogen.
2. The following theories are advanced: (a) This platelet sequestration may
be due to platelet clumping caused by coagulation occurring on the platelet
surface. Surface coagulation may be initiated by the action of thromboplastin
or thrombin on the plasma proteins and calcium adsorbed on the platelet
surface. The platelet clumps may be filtered out in the sinusoidal spaces of the
body, especially in liver and spleen. (b) The coagulation on the platelet surface may lead to partial polymerization of the fibrinogen molecule. (c) As long
as this polymerization is reversible, the entire process remains reversible. When
polymerization proceeds far enough so as to become irreversible, the platelets
and fibrinogen can no longer return to the circulation. (d) This same mechanism may explain other examples of platelet sequestration.
