Thromboxane synthesis in megakaryocytes isolated by centrifugal elutriation

A systematic approach to the optimization of centrifugal elutriation is described for the purification of rat femoral marrow megakaryocytes, which has permitted the first direct demonstration of thromboxane synthesis in these cells. The rapidity, simplicity, and capacity of this technique has made it possible to process 2 x 10(9) marrow cells in the absence of platelet aggregation inhibitors in 20 min to obtain 10(6) megakaryocytes at a recovery of about 80% with a concentration of up to 282-fold. Incubation of these isolated megakaryocytes with 14C- arachidonic acid and subsequent thin-layer radiochromatography has revealed thromboxane B2 as the major cyclooxygenase pathway metabolite of arachidonic acid in megakaryocytes.