Lack of increase or reduction in circulating platelet factor 4 and heparin-releasable platelet factor 4 in symptomatic patients with asthma.

Abstract

We measured circulating platelet factor 4 (PF4) and heparin-releasable platelet factor 4 (HR-PF4) in 13 symptomatic patients suffering from bronchial asthma and in 10 matched normal controls. Neither a difference between patients and controls, nor a correlation between platelet count and HR-PF4 was found (PF4: controls 2.1 +/- 2.9; patients 3.6 +/- 4.4 ng/ml (n.s.); HR-PF4: controls 127 +/- 49, patients 101 +/- 34 ng/ml (n.s.). Therefore, the pathogenetic role of PF4 in the mechanism of bronchial asthma, elsewhere hypothesized, cannot definitely be established.