The small number of reports concerning blood platelets during deep saturation diving have shown that there may be a decrease in the number of circulating platelets. Gas bubbles are often present in theblood during decompression. In vitro, gas bubbles activate platelets, and alter the shape from discoidto spherical configuration with multiple, blunt spikes. This study was done to investigate if there are changes in the morphology of human blood platelets during deep diving. An 18 day long experimentalon-shore saturation dive to 360 msw was performed at NUTEC 1986. Bloodsamples were obtained from the 6 divers on 6 occations: pre-dive control, at 360 msw, 300 msw, 140 msw, 1 and 3 days after surfacing. Using 18 G Wasserman needles antecubital venous blood samples (3ml) were collected directly into the fixative agent (7 ml of 2% glutardialdehyde in cacodylate buffer) whilestill in the hyperbaric chamber. The samples were then decompressed,and the platelets separated from the blood by centrifugation at roomtemperature for 10 min at 190 g. Preparation to transmission electron microscopy included post-fixation in osmium tetroxide, staining uranyl-en-bloc and eventually lead, dehydration and embedding in Epon.Ultrathin sections were examined by a Philips 300 I electron microscope. The examination revealed alterations in both platelet size and shape in the course of the dive. The mean platelet area was increased during and immidiately after thedive, the greatest increase occuring at 360 msw. There was a high incidence of shape changed plateletswith spherical configuration and multiple, blunt spikes. This form was by far most abundant at 360 msw, and the morphology normalised towards surface. This rises the suspection of a pressure-related rather rhan bubble-related effect and the results indicate that plateletsin circulation can be activated bypressure itself
The purpose of this study was to investigate blood platelet function during exposure to the hydrophobic organic solvents toluene, p-xylene and n-hexane. Human blood platelets were exposed for 30 min at 37°C to a saturated atmosphere of p-xylene, toluene or n-hexane. All three solvents, and the aromatics in particular, induced a decrease in the number of single platelets (61-88%) together with an increase in the extracellular levels of ATP plus ADP (45-65% of total) and serotonin (67-100% of total). Passive leakage of [(14)C] adenine-labelled nucleotides from the metabolic pool, due to platelet lysis, was minor or delayed. Electron microscopy of platelets exposed to p-xylene revealed aggregation. The platelets were spherical without pseudopods. Our results indicate that the hydrophobic solvents n-hexane, p-xylene and toluene induce platelet aggregation and dense granule secretion.
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