Changes in phosphoinositide turnover, Ca2+ mobilization, and protein phosphorylation in platelets from NIDDM patients.
 Enhanced platelet functions have been demonstrated in patients with non-insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus (NIDDM).
 This study evaluated abnormalities in platelet signal transduction in diabetic patients, including turnover of phosphoinositides, mobilization of intracellular Ca2+, and phosphorylation of 20,000- and 47,000-Mr proteins (P20 and P47).
 Washed platelets were obtained from 6 patients with NIDDM whose platelet aggregation rates were abnormally elevated (DM-A group), 11 NIDDM patients with normal platelet aggregation rates (DM-B group), and 8 age-matched healthy control subjects.
 The mass and specific radioactivity of phosphatidylinositol 4,5-bisphosphate (PIP2), phosphatidylinositol 4-phosphate (PIP), phosphatidylinositol (PI), and phosphatidic acid (PA) in 32P-labeled platelets were not different among the three groups.
 Hydrolysis of PIP2, PIP, and PI; accumulation of PA; and phosphorylation of P20 in platelets stimulated by 0.05 U/ml thrombin were significantly increased in the DM-A group compared with the control or DM-B group.
 There was no difference in P47 phosphorylation among the three groups.
 On the contrary, P20 and P47 phosphorylation induced by 50 nM of 12-O-tetradecanoylphorbol-13-acetate, an activator of protein kinase C, was significantly decreased in the DM-A group.
 Additionally, the intracellular free Ca2+ concentration [( Ca2+]i) was measured with the fluorescent Ca2+ indicator fura 2.
 Although the basal [Ca2+]i value was similar in the three groups, the rise in [Ca2+]i induced by 0.05 U/ml thrombin in the presence and the absence of extracellular Ca2+ was significantly higher in the DM-A group than the other groups.
