EVIDENCE THAT ADHESION OF ELECTRICALLY PERMEABILIZED PLATELETS TO COLLAGEN IS MEDIATED BY GUANINE-NUCLEOTIDE REGULATORY PROTEINS

Adhesion of electrically permeabilized platelets to collagen was found to be essentially independent of free Ca2+ concentration in the medium. Addition of stable GTP analogues increased the proportion of adhering cells about 5-fold. This effect was inhibited by guanosine 5'-[beta-thio]diphosphate, cytochalasin D or monoclonal antibodies to glycoprotein Ia. In contrast, the protein kinase C inhibitor staurosporine had only a small effect on the GTP-analogue-enhanced adhesion of the permeabilized cells to collagen. These results suggest that a guanine nucleotide regulatory (G)-protein is directly linked to the collagen receptor and is involved in the actin-dependent recruitment of additional collagen receptors.