Qualitative and Quantitative Assessment of Platelet Activating Factors

PAF, a Putative Mediator of Oral Inflammation

“…Nevertheless, various molecular species of alkyl-PAF (16:0-, 18:1-, 18:0-) and acyl-PAF (16:0-, 18:1-, 18:0-) have been shown to possess biological activity for stimulating rabbit platelets and human PMN, albeit with differing relative potencies (Pinckard et al, 1992(Pinckard et al, , 1997 (Smiley et al, 1991;Tanaka et al, 1994). This class of phospholipid autacoid is not enzymatically produced but rather is generated by peroxidation of double bonds within polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA; likely arachidonic acid) esterified at the sn-2 position of acyl-PC and alkyl-PC (Smiley et al, 1991;Tokumura et al, 1991Tokumura et al, , 1992Patel et al, 1992;Tanaka et al, 1993Tanaka et al, , 1994.…”

“…In the case of PMN, this includes chemotaxis, aggregation, the respiratory burst, priming, LTB4 production, the release of lysosomal enzymes, and the increased cell-surface expression of the CDl lb integrin (cf. Pinckard et al, 1988Pinckard et al, , 1992Pinckard et al, , 1994Pinckard et al, , 1997. Similar receptor-mediated signaling leads to activation of other PAF cellular targets, including the platelet, eosinophil, monocyte/macrophage, and vascular endothelial cell.…”

“…Further efforts are required to determine the possible relationship between the levels of PAF in the mixed saliva of Sjogren's subjects and the nature/extent of oral tissue injury. The development of sophisticated and sensitive technologies for the detection and quantitation of PAF has permitted studies to characterize the molecular heterogeneity of PAF in biological samples (Pinckard et al, 1997). Thus, following phospholipid derivatization and detection by mass spectrometry, different molecular species of PAF have been detected in the mixed saliva obtained from orally healthy human subjects (Christman and Blair, 1989;Woodard et al, 1995b).…”