The diurnal tick-tockery of platelet biology

Circadian (∼24 hours) clocks are ubiquitous in nature and are important regulators of behaviour, physiology and metabolism. Circadian clocks can synchronise biological processes with environmental cycles, buffer biological systems to maintain homeostasis and partition mutually antagonistic processes to different temporal spaces within the daily cycle. Clocks act cell-autonomously (intrinsically) and systemically (extrinsically) to coordinate whole organism biology and there is epidemiological evidence indicating that chronic disruption of behavioural rhythms increases the risk of developing cancer and cardiovascular disease. Although the genetic mechanism of the mammalian clock has been largely deciphered, the physiological relevance of clocks often remains elusive. Findings from humans and animal models suggest that the circadian clock and diurnal rhythms have an important role in megakaryopoiesis and the risk of a cardiovascular event. This short review will introduce the mammalian circadian clock and discuss how circadian clocks and diurnal rhythms influence platelet production and function.