Figure 1
(A) Platelet aggregation ratio. The elevated plasma 5-HT is associated with the increased aggregation rates of platelets. These were determined in the platelets (300,000 platelets/assay) of CLP and SHAM mice blood samples. The aggregation response to 3 μg/ml collagen was significantly (1.4-fold) higher in platelets from CLP mice compared to SHAM mice. Aggregation rates determined in three separate experiments (n = 4 each assay; p <0.001). (B) Characterization of 5-HT concentration in CLP- and SHAM mice blood plasma. 5-HT concentrations in blood plasma were measured by a competitive ELISA technique (4.38 ± 0.16 nM for SHAM (n = 4) and 13.16 ± 0.83 nM for CLP animals (n = 6)) as described previously20. Four hours post CLP application increased the plasma 5-HT concentration by 3–fold. (C) The 5-HT uptake rates of platelets isolated from CLP and SHAM mice blood samples. Plasma 5-HT level is regulated by SERT, a single gene product. Elevated plasma 5-HT was associated with a 1.37-fold increase in 5-HT uptake rates of platelets of CLP compared to the ones of SHAM mice. The rate of uptake is expressed as the mean ± SD of triplicate determinations from three independent experiments. *P<0.001 (compared with CLP versus SHAM uptake rates, respectively).
