Unraveling Mechanisms that Control Platelet Production

Unraveling mechanisms that control platelet production.

Platelets are formed by giant precursor cells called megakaryocytes that reside within the bone marrow. The generation of platelets, and their release into the bloodstream by megakaryocytes, requires a complex series of remodeling events powered by the cytoskeleton to result in the release of many platelets from a single megakaryocyte. Abnormalities in this process can result in thrombocytopeni...

Conversion from Platelet-Rich Plasma Platelet Production to Buffy Coat Platelet Component Production: Benefits and Limitations

Blood transfusion centers are under considerable pressure to produce platelet concentrates with high quality and safety due to the short shelf life of 3-5 days as well as possible bacterial and viral contaminations. For a variety of reasons, many Europeans have changed their methods of component production from whole blood using the North American standard platelet-rich plasma method to the buf...

Unraveling the Wacker oxidation mechanisms.

The Wacker processsolefin oxidation via a Pd(II)Cl2 catalyst and an air-recyclable CuCl2 co-oxidant (Scheme 1)swas one of the most important industrial breakthroughs in the fabrication of organic chemicals, and is widely regarded as one of the quintessential organometallic processes.1 Besides its industrial importance, the Wacker process and its analogues are continually used in fields relating...

The molecular mechanisms that control thrombopoiesis.

Our understanding of thrombopoiesis--the formation of blood platelets--has improved greatly in the last decade, with the cloning and characterization of thrombopoietin, the primary regulator of this process. Thrombopoietin affects nearly all aspects of platelet production, from self-renewal and expansion of HSCs, through stimulation of the proliferation of megakaryocyte progenitor cells, to sup...

Molecular mechanisms that control renin secretion.