Phenol sulfotransferase (PST) catalyzes the sulfate conjugation of catechol and phenolic drugs and xenobiotic compounds. Platelets and other tissues contain at least two forms of PST, forms that have been designated the "TL" and the "TS" forms. We measured the thermal stability of platelet TS PST in blood samples from 218 randomly selected unrelated subjects by heating platelet homogenates at 44 degrees C for 15 min. Thermal stability was expressed as the ratio of the enzyme activity remaining after preincubation to that in an unheated sample, a heated/control (H/C) ratio. The frequency distribution of H/C ratios for this population sample was bimodal, with a nadir at an H/C ratio of 0.33. Of the 218 subjects studied, 29 (13.3%) had thermolabile TS PST (H/C less than 0.33). Platelet samples were then obtained from subjects with thermolabile and thermostable TS platelet PST. PST activity in these platelet samples had similar apparent Km constants for substrates. IC50 values for inhibition of TS PST by 2,6-dichloro-4-nitrophenol in these samples were also nearly identical. The results of experiments in which platelet homogenates from subjects with thermolabile and thermostable TS PST were mixed and the results of experiments in which platelet homogenates were subjected to gel filtration chromatography were compatible with the conclusion that individual differences in TS PST thermal stability were properties of PST itself. Finally, there was a significant familial aggregation of the trait of thermolabile TS PST when H/C ratios were measured in platelet homogenates from 231 members of 49 randomly selected families.