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Looking Under the Hood at the Cytoskeletal Engine of Platelet Production

Joseph E Italiano1,2, Clementine Payne1,2, Roelof H Bekendam1,2,3

  • 1Vascular Biology Program, Boston Children's Hospital, MA (J.E.I., C.P., R.H.B.).

Arteriosclerosis, Thrombosis, and Vascular Biology
|December 12, 2024
PubMed

Blood platelets are anucleate cells essential for normal blood hemostasis. To maintain a normal platelet count of 150 000 to 400 000 per μL of blood, 1011 platelets must be released each day from precursor cells called megakaryocytes. In this review, we aim to provide an overview of platelet production and evaluate the proposed mechanisms of platelet generation. We will discuss novel cytoskeletal mechanisms of platelet production, including microtubule and actin-based systems. We present new evidence that supports a cytoplasmic trigger for platelet production, discuss centrosome clustering as a new mechanism to trigger proplatelet production, and review new data supporting the bone marrow as the major location of platelet production.

Keywords:
bone marrowhemostasismegakaryocytesmicrotubulethrombopoietin

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