Summary
We assessed the in vivo effect of six intact anti-human antiplatelet antibodies of two major IgG subclasses
on platelet kinetics in baboons. Five of the six antibodies tested caused thrombocytopenia
of varying degree when injected at a precalculated threshold value. An agglutinating
IgG1 antibody (MA-8L4A12) caused a long-lasting, mild thrombocytopenia with a predominant
uptake of radiolabelled platelets in the spleen, while the four IgG2 antibodies tested (MA-13G8E1, MA-2M5A6, MA-21K2E8 and MA-22M10) caused a severe,
transient thrombocytopenia with uptake of platelets in the liver. Two of the IgG2
antibodies (MA-13G8E1 and MA-2M5A6) caused platelet activation and aggregation in vitro, whilst the other two did not elicit a platelet aggregation response. The platelet
survival time was shortened with all five of the thrombocytopenia-inducing antibodies,
while only one antibody (MA-2M5A6) had a significant effect on the bleeding time.
This study indicates that the IgG subclasss may be a determining factor in the outcome
of platelet sequestration in immune-induced thrombocytopenia.
Keywords
Platelet kinetics - thrombocytopenia - antibodies