Human platelets as the object of investigation of the molecular mechanisms underlying nongenomic effects of glucocorticoid hormones

The effect of hydrocortisone (100 nM–10 μM) on the major biochemical parameters of platelet activity (intracellular free calcium concentration, thromboxane B₂ content, and baseline and stimulated levels of cAMP and cGMP) is examined. The results obtained indicate that the inhibitory effect of glucocorticoids on platelet aggregation is mediated by activation of the adenylate cyclase system and suppression of the calcium response. Presumably, neither guanylate cyclase nor phospholipase A₂-dependent systems are the targets of nongenomic actions of glucocorticoid hormones. Platelets can serve as a convenient tool for the investigation of nongenomic effects of glucocorticoid hormones. Translated fromByulleten' Eksperimental'noi Biologii i Meditsiny, Vol. 122, No. 9, pp. 285–287, September, 1996