Thrombospondin, a major glycoprotein released from a granules of thrombin-stimulated platelets, is a disulfidebonded trimer of 160-kilodalton subunits. Cultured human foreskin and fetal lung fibroblasts secreted thrombospondin (determined by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay) into the culture medium in a time-dependent manner (15.7 and 5.8 Thrombospondin is a major platelet a granule glycoprotein that is secreted and then partially bound to platelet membranes when human platelets aggregate in response to thrombin (1)(2)(3)(4)(5)(6)(7)(8). Thrombospondin is a 450-kilodalton (kDal) protein and is composed of three large disulfide-linked subunits (9, 10). During platelet aggregation, thrombin-stimulated platelets develop a membrane-bound lectin-like activity (11-13), which originates from a granules and appears to play a role in mediating platelet aggregation by binding to a specific receptor on other platelets (14,15 3.7 X 10'°Bq). The radioactive postculture medium was removed, centrifuged at 8,000 x g for 2 min to remove cells and debris, and frozen at -35°C. The radioactive cell layers were washed twice, removed with a rubber policeman, pelleted by centrifugation, dissolved by boiling for 5 min in 2% NaDodSO4 containing protease inhibitors as described (20), and frozen until analyzed.In experiments in which the accumulation of thrombospondin antigen was measured by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA), fibroblasts were cultured in minimal essential medium containing 20% rabbit serum in 2-cm2 wells of multiwell plates. When the cells were confluent, the cells were washed, and the medium was replaced with 1 ml of fresh minimal essential medium containing 20% rabbit serum. At various times after the medium change, the postculture medium was removed, centrifuged at 8,000 X g for 2 min, and frozen until assayed.
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