3.1: Platelet ultrastructure Flashcards
Platelets are anatomically divided into four areas:
- Peripheral zone
- Sol-gel zone
- Organelle zone
- Membranous system
Peripheral Zone
Glycocalyx
Resting Platelet Membrane
Sol-gel Zone
Microtubules
Microfilaments
Organelle Zone
Alpha Granules
Dense Granules
Lysosomes
Membranous System
Dense Tubular System (DTS)
Surface-Connected Canalicular System (SCCS)
Outer surface, fuzzy coating primarily composed of glycoproteins
Glycocalyx
The platelet membrane surface that absorbs albumin, fibrinogen, and other plasma proteins
Glycocalyx
Resembles any biologic membrane bilayer composed of proteins and lipids
Resting Platelet Membrane
Predominant lipids of Resting Platelet Membrane
Phospholipids
Cholesterol
Predominant lipids of Resting Platelet Membrane:
forms the basic structure
Phospholipids
Predominant lipids of Resting Platelet Membrane:
distributed asymmetrically throughout the phospholipids
Cholesterol
Forms a bilayer with their polar heads oriented towards the aqueous environments (blood plasma - externally, cytoplasm - internally)
Phospholipids
Phospholipids:
predominant in the outer blood plasma layer
Neutral Phospholipids
Phospholipids:
predominant in the inner cytoplasmic layer
Anionic or Polar Phospholipids
Neutral Phospholipids:
● Phosphatidylcholine
● Sphingomyelin
Anionic or Polar Phospholipids:
● Phosphatidylinositol
● Phosphatidylethanolamine
● Phosphatidylserine
Anionic or Polar Phospholipids:
supplies arachidonic acid
Phosphatidylinositol
Anionic or Polar Phospholipids:
flips to the external surface and is responsible in the assembly of the coagulation factor complexes in the surface
Phosphatidylserine
Stabilizes the membrane, maintains fluidity, and helps you control the transmembranous passage of materials through the selectively permeable plasma membrane
Cholesterol
Maintains the platelet’s discoid shape
Microtubules
Parallel the plane of the outer surface of the platelet and reside just within, although not touching, the plasma membrane
Microtubules
Microtubules disassemble at refrigerator temp or when platelets are treated with
colchicine
Move inward on platelet activation to enable the expression of a-granule contents
Microtubules
Provide rigidity to pseudopods during platelet activation.
Microtubules
A thick meshwork that lies between the microtubules and the membrane
Microfilaments
Microfilaments is composed of
Actin
Is contractile in platelets and anchors in the plasma membrane glycoproteins and proteoglycans
Actin
Actin in resting platelet:
globular and amorphous
Actin With elevated cytoplasmic calcium:
filamentous and contractile
Ropelike polymers of desmin and vimentin
Intermediate Filaments
Connect with actin and the tubules, maintaining platelet shape
Intermediate Filaments
Stains medium-gray in osmium dye transmission electron microscopy preparations
Alpha Granules
Alpha Granules are filled with
proteins
Alpha granules fuse with _____ in activated platelets
SCCS (Surface-Connected Canalicular System)