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Updated: Jul 16, 2026
Megakaryocyte Differentiation and Platelet Formation from Human Cord Blood-derived CD34+ Cells
Published on: December 27, 2017
Platelets recruit human dendritic cells via Mac-1/JAM-C interaction and modulate dendritic cell function in vitro
Harald F Langer1, Karin Daub, Gregor Braun
1Innere Medizin, Abteilung III, Eberhard Karls Universität Tübingen, Otfried-Müller Str. 10, 72076 Tübingen, Germany. harald.langer@med.uni-tuebingen.de
Objective:
Thrombotic events and immunoinflammatory processes take place next to each other during vascular remodeling in atherosclerotic lesions. In this study we investigated the interaction of platelets with dendritic cells (DCs).
Methods And Results:
The rolling of DCs on platelets was mediated by PSGL-1. Firm adhesion of DCs was mediated through integrin alphaMbeta2 (Mac-1). In vivo, adhesion of DCs to injured carotid arteries in mice was mediated by platelets. Pretreatment with soluble GPVI, which inhibits platelet adhesion to collagen, substantially reduced recruitment of DCs to the injured vessel wall. In addition, preincubation of DCs with sJAM-C significantly reduced their adhesion to platelets. Coincubation of DCs with platelets induced maturation of DCs, as shown by enhanced expression of CD83. In the presence of platelets, DC-induced lymphocyte proliferation was significantly enhanced. Moreover, coincubation of DCs with platelets resulted in platelet phagocytosis by DCs, as verified by different cell phagocytosis assays. Finally, platelet/DC interaction resulted in apoptosis of DCs mediated by a JAM-C-dependent mechanism.
Conclusions:
Recruitment of DCs by platelets, which is mediated via CD11b/CD18 (Mac-1) and platelet JAM-C, leads to DC activation and platelet phagocytosis. This process may be of importance for progression of atherosclerotic lesions.
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