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Updated: Jun 18, 2026

Comprehensive Analysis of Procoagulant Platelets Exhibiting Features of Necrosis, Apoptosis and Platelet Activation
04:37

Comprehensive Analysis of Procoagulant Platelets Exhibiting Features of Necrosis, Apoptosis and Platelet Activation

Published on: May 23, 2025

Anandamide extends platelets survival through CB(1)-dependent Akt signaling

Maria Valeria Catani1, Valeria Gasperi, Daniela Evangelista

  • 1Department of Experimental Medicine and Biochemical Sciences, University of Rome Tor Vergata, 00133 Rome, Italy.

Cellular and Molecular Life Sciences : CMLS
|November 26, 2009
PubMed

Platelets are stored at 22 degrees C, since incubation at 37 degrees C results in loss of viability. Nonetheless, in our body (37 degrees C), platelets survive for 8-10 days. This discrepancy has been explained in terms of deprivation of viability factors or accumulation of apoptotic factors during storage. We report that the endocannabinoid anandamide (AEA) may be one of the agents allowing platelet survival. In fact, at 37 degrees C, human platelets enhance the expression of pro-apoptotic proteins (caspases, Bax, Bak) and decrease the expression of Bcl-xL, thus changing the Bcl-xL/Bak ratio, a key platelet biological clock. AEA or its non-hydrolyzable analogue, methanandamide, extend platelet life span, without reversing the changes in Bcl-xL/Bak ratio induced by heat stress. Instead, AEA binding to type-1 cannabinoid receptor activates Akt, which regulates, through phosphorylation of Bad, the interactions among different Bcl-2 family members. These findings could have implications for platelet collection and, potentially, for their clinical use.

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