Contribution of thromboxane and endomembrane Ca2+-ATPases to variability in Ca2+ signalling of platelets from healthy volunteers

Inter-individual variability in Ca2+ signal generation was studied in platelets from 15 healthy volunteers. The possible involvement of variation in thromboxane A production and variation in sarco/endoplasmic reticulum Ca2+-ATPases (SERCAs) was investigated by using platelets isolated before and after intake of 500 mg aspirin, and by measuring the expression levels of two main SERCA isoforms (SERCA-2b and PL/IM 430-recognizable SERCA). Considerable difference in Ca2+ responses were detected after platelet stimulation with thrombin, collagen or the SERCA-2b inhibitor, thapsigargin (TG), with inter-individual coefficients of variance of 22-43% in the absence and 15-41% in the presence of aspirin. Differences in thromboxane A2 generation and SERCA expression contributed to this variability in various ways. In the absence of aspirin, the amount of formed thromboxane A2 partially explains the level of the Ca2+ response induced by TG. On the other hand, in the absence of thromboxane-dependent effects, the expression levels of SERCA-2b and SERCA PL/IM 430 were inversely related to the responses evoked by collagen and TG, respectively. None of these factors were related to the level of the thrombin-evoked Ca2+ signal.