Chorein sensitivity of cytoskeletal organization and degranulation of platelets

Chorea-acanthocytosis (ChAc), a lethal disease caused by defective chorein, is characterized by neurodegeneration and erythrocyte acanthocytosis. The functional significance of chorein in other cell types remained ill-defined. The present study revealed chorein expression in blood platelets. As compared to platelets from healthy volunteers, platelets from patients with ChAc displayed a 47% increased globular/filamentous actin ratio, indicating actin depolymerization. Moreover, phosphoinositide-3-kinase subunit p85 phosphorylation, p21 protein-activated kinase (PAK1) phosphorylation, as well as vesicle-associated membrane protein 8 (VAMP8) expression were significantly reduced in platelets from patients with ChAc (by 17, 22, and 39%, respectively) and in megakaryocytic (MEG-01) cells following chorein silencing (by 16, 54, and 11%, respectively). Activation-induced platelet secretion from dense granules (ATP release) and granules (P-selectin exposure) were significantly less (by 55% after stimulation with 1 g/ml CRP and by 33% after stimulation with 5 M TRAP, respectively) in ChAc platelets than in control platelets. Furthermore, platelet aggregation following stimulation with different platelet agonists was significantly impaired. These observations reveal a completely novel function of chorein, i.e., regulation of secretion and aggregation of blood platelets.Schmidt, E.-M., Schmid, E., Munzer, P., Hermann, A., Eyrich, A.-K., Russo, A., Walker, B., Gu, S., Muller vom Hagen, J., Faggio, C., Schaller, M., Foller, M., Schols, L., Gawaz, M., Borst, O., Storch, A., Stournaras, C., Lang, F. Chorein sensitivity of cytoskeletal organization and degranulation of platelets.