AET-treated platelets: their usefulness for platelet antibody detection and an examination of their altered sensitivity to immune lysis

2-Aminoethylisothiouronium bromide (AET) increases the sensitivity of blood cells to complement-mediated immune lysis. We compared the sensitivities of untreated or AET-treated platelets to immune lysis induced by different types of platelet antibody in the 51Cr platelet lysis test. AET platelets were 8–16 times more sensitive to autoantibody and alloantibody, but 8–16 times less sensitive to drug- dependent antibody. AET-platelets bound similar amounts of alloantibody but less drug-dependent antibody, and they lysed at higher complement dilutions than did untreated platelets. AET-platelets detected 10 of 25 autoantibodies, 9 of 9 alloantibodies, and 5 of 8 drug-dependent antibodies. Untreated platelets detected 1 of 25, 6 of 9, and 7 of 8 of these respective platelet antibodies. The use of AET-platelets in the 51Cr platelet lysis test increases its sensitivity for detecting non- drug-dependent platelet antibodies. AET-platelets resemble paroxysmal nocturnal hemoglobinuria (PNH) platelets in their enhanced sensitivity to complement-mediated lysis. They differ from PNH platelets in their insensitivity to immune lysis induced by drug-dependent antibodies and, in this respect, are similar to Bernard-Soulier syndrome platelets.