Adhesive properties of blood cells

The adhesive interactions of the cells with each other and with the extracellular matrix (ECM) are important for their normal growth and differentiation. Currently, very little is known concerning the adhesive and cell recognition factors that maintain cell-to-cell contacts in haemopoietic tissues. The majority of peripheral blood cells are known to possess an ability to interact with each other (aggregation phenomenon) or with various artificial materials, which has important implications for medicine, particularly in the fields of thrombosis, vascular prosthetics and dialysis. On the other hand, recent studies indicate that blood cells can interact with the main important components of ECM, such as collagen, fibronectin, etc. These data, as well as the newly discovered receptor structures for various adhesive proteins on the surface of blood cells suggest that the haemopoietic tissue has a diverse function involving interaction with the ECM.