What Is Platelet Activation?

Platelets are small pieces of cytoplasm shed from the cytoplasm of mature megakaryocytes in the bone marrow. Although megakaryocytes are the least among bone marrow hematopoietic cells, accounting for only 0.05% of the total number of bone marrow nucleated cells, the platelets they produce are extremely important for the body's hemostatic function. When blood is lost due to vascular trauma, the functional activities of platelets in the process of physiological hemostasis can be roughly divided into two stages: The first stage is mainly after the trauma occurs, the platelets quickly adhere to the wound and form clusters to form a softer hemostatic Thrombosis; the second stage is mainly to promote blood clotting and form a solid hemostatic thrombus. ^[1]

[xuè xio bn]

Platelets mature from the bone marrow

Until 1882, Italian physician J. B. Bizozero discovered that they play an important role in the hemostasis after vascular injury, and only proposed the nomenclature of platelets for the first time.

On July 13, 2018, research teams from Kyoto University in Japan, Nagoya University, Keio University, Shiga Medical University, and others announced that they have successfully developed a technology for making a large number of platelets using iPS cells (induced pluripotent stem cells). The team used iPS cells to artificially cultivate platelets, and then purified them to obtain high-quality platelets that can be used for blood transfusion. Prior to this study, only 40% of the artificially developed platelets were available for blood transfusion, with low clinical utilization and high cost. The research results are published in the American scientific journal Cell. Leader of the research team and professor of Kyoto University Jiang Tenghao said that the research team has basically completed the preparation for clinical application and will steadily advance the practical application of artificial platelets according to the needs of patients. In the future, research on mass production of platelet technology will be the main goal to cope with insufficient blood donation and platelet shortage in the future, and consider its application in the research of blood transfusion therapy. ^[4]