Cytoskeletal changes during adhesion and release: a comparison of human and nonhuman primate platelets.

The organization of cytoskeletal proteins in whole-mount adherent platelets from African green monkeys and normal human volunteers has been studied by SEM, high vacuum electron microscopy (HVEM) and conventional (120 kV) electron microscopy. We describe three distinct organizational zones, the Central Matrix, the Trabecular Zone and the Peripheral Web in spread platelets from both sources. The Central Matrix is an ill-defined superstructure of 80-100 A filaments of short length which enshrouded the granules, dense bodies, mitochondria and elements of the open-channel and dense-tubular systems. The latter, identified through the use of peroxidase cytochemistry with the whole mounts, is an anastomosing network of elongate saccules having diameters of 600-1200 A. The Trabecular Zone, which encircles the Central Matrix, contains 165, 80-100 and 30-50 A filaments in an open lattice of irregular lattice spacing. The outermost region of the cells, the Peripheral Web, is comprised of 70 A filaments organized in a honeycomb lattice with center to center spacing in the range 150-300 A. This pattern for the spread cells is not consistently observed in cells during the early stages of adhesion; therefore, correlations of SEM and TEM observations are made for the various stages of adhesion/activation.