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platelet

 
Dictionary: plate·let   (plāt'lĭt) pronunciation
n.

A minute, nonnucleated, disklike cytoplasmic body found in the blood plasma of mammals that is derived from a megakaryocyte and functions to promote blood clotting. Also called blood platelet, thrombocyte.


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World of the Body: platelets
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Platelets are small fragments of cellular material in the blood. They originate by splitting off from large cells in the bone marrow. Platelets have essential functions. They are necessary for the process of clotting when blood vessels are damaged, both by providing crucial chemical substances and by physically plugging the hole — hence their other name: thrombocytes. That they have also a continuous rather than only an emergency function is shown by the effects of an abnormal shortage, known as thrombocytopenia; this leads to multiple tiny bleeds into the skin (purpura).

— Stuart Judge

See blood.

Dental Dictionary: platelet
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(plāt′let)
n

A disk found in the blood of mammals that is concerned in the coagulation and clotting of blood.


Small, colourless, irregular blood cell crucial in coagulation. Produced in bone marrow and stored in the spleen, platelets accumulate to block a cut in a blood vessel and provide a surface for fibrin strands to adhere to, contract to pull the strands together, and take part in the conversion sequence of coagulation factors. They also store and transport several chemicals.

For more information on platelet, visit Britannica.com.

Health Dictionary: platelets
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(playt-luhts)

Small, flat disks in the blood that aid in clotting.

Veterinary Dictionary: platelet
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A small disk or platelike structure, the smallest of the formed elements in blood. Blood platelets (called also thrombocytes) are disk-shaped, non-nucleated blood elements with a very fragile membrane; they tend to adhere to uneven or damaged surfaces. They average about 250,000 per cubic millimeter of blood and are formed in the red bone marrow by fragmentation of megakaryocytes, the largest of the bone marrow cells. Platelet production is controlled by a hormone, thrombopoietin, and regulatory lymphocytes acting at the stem cell level. At any given time about one-third of the total blood platelets can be found in the spleen; the remaining two-thirds are in the circulating blood.
The functions of platelets are related to the clotting of blood. Because of their adhesion and aggregation capabilities platelets can occlude small breaks in blood vessels and prevent the escape of blood. Platelets which have adhered to exposed collagen in damaged vessels release ADP in milliseconds which in turn initiates the synthesis of thromboxane A2, a very potent prostaglandin which causes platelet aggregation and localized vasoconstriction. Fibrinogen, factors V and VIII, calcium ions, platelet phospholipid (PF-3), associated with the platelet membrane are also released. Substances contained within the platelet granules such as thromboglobulin, heparin neutralizing activity (PF-4) mitogens such as platelet derived growth factor, thrombospondin, ADP, serotonin and calcium ions are also released by aggregated platelets.

  • p.-activating factor (PAF) — see platelet-activating factor.
  • p. adhesion — the adherence of platelets to any area with damaged blood vessels; an important component of hemostasis.
  • p. aggregation — the progressive accumulation of platelets, attracted by other platelets once adhesion begins. Thromboxane A2 causes irreversible platelet aggregation.
  • p. aggregation test — a known platelet aggregating factor such as collagen, ADP or thrombin is added to a suspension of the platelets under test and the degree of aggregation measured by decrease in turbidity of the suspension.
  • p. count — may be performed directly (in a hemocytometer chamber) or indirectly (estimating from the stained blood smear by number per field or in comparison to the number of white blood cells), expressed as number of cells per liter of blood.
  • p.-derived growth factor — one of three growth factors released by platelets which undergo the release reaction; the growth factors stimulate endothelial cell proliferation.
  • p. distribution width (PDW) — an indication of variation in platelet size which can be a sign of active platelet release.
  • p. factor 3 (PF-3) test, p. release test — test the antiplatelet activity of serum; used to detect circulating antiplatelet antibodies. Antibody–antigen reactions involving platelets cause the release of PF-3 from platelets which in turn shortens the contact-activated clotting time of platelet-rich plasma (PRP).
  • p. factors — factors important in hemostasis which are contained in or attached to the platelets: platelet factor 1 is adsorbed clotting factor V from the plasma; platelet factor 2 is an accelerator of the thrombin–fibrinogen reaction; platelet factor 3 is a phospholipid with potent procoagulant activity; platelet factor 4 is capable of inhibiting the activity of heparin (heparin neutralizing activity).
  • mean p. volume (MPV) — elevated level is an indication of increased megakaryocyte shedding of platelets and decreased level is seen in thrombocytopenia.
  • p. plug formation — see platelet aggregation (above).
  • p. release reaction — measured by the degree of secondary ADP-mediated aggregation that occurs. This is assessed by the amount of PF-4, PF-3 or serotonin, etc. released.
  • p. retention — tested by testing the adhesiveness of a suspension of the subject platelets to a glass bead column or standard size filter.
  • p. rich plasma — plasma prepared by centrifugation to separate out red blood cells but not platelets for transfusion.
  • p. storage-pool disease — an inherited autosomal thrombopathia in American foxhounds and cats characterized by a deficiency of platelet storage granules.
  • p. transfusion — transfusion of fresh, nonchilled whole blood is the usual method of transfusing platelets to an animal with thrombocytopenia.
Wikipedia: Platelet
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Two platelets (purple) under a light microscope (40x) from a peripheral blood smear surrounded by red blood cells.

Platelets, or thrombocytes (from Greek θρόμβος — «clot» and κύτος — «cell»), are small, irregularly-shaped anuclear cells (i.e. cells that do not have a nucleus containing DNA), 2-3 µm in diameter[1], which are derived from fragmentation of precursor megakaryocytes.  The average lifespan of a platelet is between 8 and 12 days. Platelets play a fundamental role in hemostasis and are a natural source of growth factors. They circulate in the blood of mammals and are involved in hemostasis, leading to the formation of blood clots.

If the number of platelets is too low, excessive bleeding can occur. However, if the number of platelets is too high, blood clots can form (thrombosis), which may obstruct blood vessels and result in such events as a stroke, heart attack, pulmonary embolism or the blockage of blood vessels to other parts of the body, such as the extremities of the arms or legs.  An abnormality or disease of the platelets is called a thrombocytopathy[2], which could be either a low number of platelets (thrombocytopenia), a decrease in function (thrombasthenia), or an increase in the number of (thrombocytosis). There are disorders that reduce the number of platelets, such as heparin-induced thrombocytopenia (HIT) or thrombotic thrombocytopenic purpura (TTP) that typically cause thromboses, or clots, instead of bleeding.

Platelets release a multitude of growth factors including platelet-derived growth factor (PDGF), a potent chemotactic agent, and transforming growth factor-β, which stimulates the deposition of extracellular matrix.  Both of these growth factors have been shown to play a significant role in the repair and regeneration of connective tissues.  Other healing-associated growth factors produced by platelets include basic fibroblast growth factor, insulin-like growth factor-1 (IGF-1), platelet-derived epidermal growth factor, and vascular endothelial growth factor.  Local application of these factors in increased concentrations through PRP (platelet-rich plasma) has been used as an adjunct to wound healing for several decades[3][4][5][6][7][8][9].

Contents

Kinetics

Blood cell lineage
  • Platelets are produced in blood cell formation (thrombopoiesis) in bone marrow, by budding off from megakaryocytes.
  • The physiological range for platelets is 150-400 x 109 per litre.
  • Around 1 x 1011 platelets are produced each day by an average healthy adult.
  • The lifespan of circulating platelets is 7 to 10 days.
  • This process is regulated by thrombopoietin, a hormone usually produced by the liver and kidneys.
  • Each megakaryocyte produces between 5,000 and 10,000 platelets.
  • Old platelets are destroyed by phagocytosis in the spleen and by Kupffer cells in the liver.

Thrombus formation

The function of platelets is the maintenance of haemostasis.  This is achieved primarily by the formation of thrombi, when damage to the endothelium of blood vessels occurs. On the converse, thrombus formation must be inhibited at times when there is no damage to the endothelium.

Activation

The inner surface of blood vessels is lined with a thin layer of endothelial cells that, in normal hemostasis, acts to inhibit platelet activation by producing endothelial-ADPase, noradrenaline, and PGI2.  Endothelial-ADPase clears away ADP, a platelet activator, from platelet surface receptors.

Endothelial cells produce a protein called von Willebrand factor, a cell adhesion ligand, which helps endothelial cells adhere to collagen in the basement membrane.  Under physiological conditions, collagen does not pass into the bloodstream.  However vWF is secreted constitutively into the plasma by the endothelial cells that produce it, or otherwise is stored within the endothelial cell or in platelets.

When endothelial damage occurs, platelets come into contact with exposed collagen and vWF, causing a reduction in secretion of endothelium platelet inhibitors.

Under the endothelial layer, there is a layer of collagen; When the endothelial layer is injured, the collagen is exposed.

When the platelets contact collagen, they are activated.  They are also activated by thrombin (primarily through PAR-1) and ADP receptors (P2Y1 and P2Y12) expressed on platelets.  They can also be activated by a negatively-charged surface, such as glass.

Platelet activation further results in the scramblase-mediated transport of negatively-charged phospholipids to the platelet surface.  These phospholipids provide a catalytic surface (with the charge provided by phosphatidylserine and phosphatidylethanolamine) for the tenase and prothrombinase complexes.

Shape change

Activated platelets change in shape to become more spherical, and pseudopods form on their surface.  Thus they assume a stellate [star-like] shape.

Granule secretion

Platelets contain alpha and dense granules.  Activated platelets excrete the contents of these granules into their canalicular systems and into surrounding blood.  There are two types of granules:

Thromboxane A2 synthesis

Platelet activation initiates the arachidonic acid pathway to produce TXA2.  TXA2 is involved in activating other platelets. also it can produce prostacycline by another pathway

Adhesion and aggregation

Platelets aggregate, or clump together, using fibrinogen and vWF as a connecting agent.  The most abundant platelet aggregation receptor is glycoprotein (GP) IIb/IIIa; this is a calcium-dependent receptor for fibrinogen, fibronectin, vitronectin, thrombospondin, and von Willebrand factor (vWF).  Other receptors include GPIb-V-IX complex (vWF) and GPVI (collagen).

Activated platelets will adhere, via glycoprotein (GP) Ia, to the collagen that is exposed by endothelial damage.  Aggregation and adhesion act together to form the platelet plug.  Myosin and actin filaments in platelets are stimulated to contract during aggregation, further reinforcing the plug.

Platelet aggregation is stimulated by ADP, thromboxane, and α2 receptor-activation, but inhibited by other inflammatory products like PGI2 and PGD2.  Platelet aggregation is enhanced by exogenous administration of anabolic steroids.

Other functions

Cytokine signaling

In addition to being the chief cellular effector of hemostasis, platelets are rapidly deployed to sites of injury or infection, and potentially modulate inflammatory processes by interacting with leukocytes and by secreting cytokines, chemokines, and other inflammatory mediators[11] [12] [13] [14].  Platelets also secrete platelet-derived growth factor (PDGF).

Role in disease

High and low counts

A normal platelet count in a healthy individual is between 150,000 and 450,000 per μl (microlitre) of blood (150–450 x 109/L)[15].  Ninety-five percent of healthy people will have platelet counts in this range.  Some will have statistically abnormal platelet counts while having no demonstrable abnormality.  However, if it is either very low or very high, the likelihood of an abnormality being present is higher.

Both thrombocytopenia (or thrombopenia) and thrombocytosis may present with coagulation problems.  In general, low platelet counts increase bleeding risks; however there are exceptions. For example, immune heparin-induced thrombocytopenia and thrombocytosis (high counts) may lead to thrombosis, although this is mainly when the elevated count is due to myeloproliferative disorder.

Low platelet counts are, in general, not corrected by transfusion unless the patient is bleeding or the count has fallen below 5 x 109/L.  Transfusion is contraindicated in thrombotic thrombocytopenic purpura (TTP), as it fuels the coagulopathy.  In patients undergoing surgery, a level below 50 x 109/L is associated with abnormal surgical bleeding, and regional anaesthetic procedures such as epidurals are avoided for levels below 80-100.

Normal platelet counts are not a guarantee of adequate function.  In some states, the platelets, while being adequate in number, are dysfunctional.  For instance, aspirin irreversibly disrupts platelet function by inhibiting cyclooxygenase-1 (COX1), and hence normal hemostasis.  The resulting platelets have no DNA and are unable to produce new cyclooxygenase.  Normal platelet function will not return until the use of aspirin has ceased and enough of the affected platelets have been replaced by new ones, which can take over a week.  Ibuprofen, another NSAID, does not have such a long duration effect, with platelet function usually returning within 24 hours[16], and taking ibuprofen before aspirin will prevent the irreversible effects of aspirin[17]Uremia, a consequence of renal failure, leads to platelet dysfunction that may be ameliorated by the administration of desmopressin.

Medications

Oral agents, often used to alter/suppress platelet function:

Intravenous agents, often used to alter/suppress platelet function:

Diseases

Disorders leading to a reduced platelet count:

Alloimmune disorders

Disorders leading to platelet dysfunction or reduced count:

Disorders featuring an elevated count:

Disorders of platelet adhesion or aggregation:

Disorders of platelet metabolism

  • Decreased cyclooxygenase activity, induced or congenital
  • Storage pool defects, acquired or congenital

Disorders that indirectly compromise platelet function:

Disorders in which platelets play a key role:

Discovery

Brewer[20] traced the history of the discovery of the platelet.  Although red blood cells had been known since van Leeuwenhoek, it was the German anatomist Max Schultze (1825-1874) who first offered a description of the platelet in his newly-founded journal Archiv für mikroscopische Anatomie[21].  He describes "spherules" to be much smaller than red blood cells that are occasionally clumped and may participate in collections of fibrous material.  He recommends further study of the findings.

Giulio Bizzozero (1846-1901), building on Schultze's findings, used "living circulation" to study blood cells of amphibians microscopically in vivo.  He is especially noted for discovering that platelets clump at the site of blood vessel injury, a process that precedes the formation of a blood clot.  This observation confirmed the role of platelets in coagulation[22].

In transfusion medicine

Platelets are either isolated from collected units of whole blood and pooled to make a therapeutic dose or collected by apheresis, sometimes concurrently with plasma or red blood cells.  The industry standard is for platelets to be tested for bacteria before transfusion to avoid septic reactions, which can be fatal.

Pooled whole-blood platelets, sometimes called "random" platelets, are made by taking a unit of whole blood that has not been cooled and placing it into a large centrifuge in what is referred to as a "soft spin."  This splits the blood into three layers: the plasma, a "buffy coat" layer, which includes the platelets, and the red blood cells.  These are expressed into different bags for storage.

Apheresis platelets are collected using a mechanical device that draws blood from the donor and centrifuges the collected blood to separate out the platelets and other components to be collected.  The remaining blood is returned to the donor.  The advantage to this method is that a single donation provides at least one therapeutic dose, as opposed to the multiple donations for whole-blood platelets.  This means that a recipient is not exposed to as many different donors and has less risk of transfusion-transmitted disease and other complications.  Sometimes a person such as a cancer patient that requires routine transfusions of platelets will receive repeated donations from a specific donor to further minimize the risk.

Platelets are not cross-matched unless they contain a significant amount of red blood cells (RBCs), which results in a reddish-orange color to the product.  This is usually associated with whole-blood platelets, as apheresis methods are more efficient than "soft spin" centrifugation at isolating the specific components of blood.  An effort is usually made to issue type specific platelets, but this is not as critical as it is with RBCs.

Platelets collected by either method have a very short shelf life, typically five or seven days depending on the system used.  This results in frequent problems with short supply, as testing the donations often requires to use up a full day.  Since there are no effective preservative solutions for platelets, they lose potency quickly and are best when fresh.

Platelets, either apheresis or random-donor platelets, can be processed through a volume reduction process.  In this process, the platelets are spun in a centrifuge and the excess plasma is removed, leaving 10 to 100 ml of platelet concentrate.  Volume-reduced platelets are normally transfused only to neonatal and pediatric patients when a large volume of plasma could overload the child's small circulatory system.  The lower volume of plasma also reduces the chances of an adverse transfusion reaction to plasma proteins.[23]  Volume reduced platelets have a shelf life of only four hours.[24]

References

  1. ^ Campbell, Neil A. (2008). Biology (8th ed.). London: Pearson Education. p. 912. ISBN 978-0-321-53616-7. "Platelets are pinched-off cytoplasmic fragments of specialized bone marrow cells. They are about 2-3µm in diameter and have no nuclei. Platelets serve both structural and molecular functions in blood clotting." 
  2. ^ Maton, Anthea; Jean Hopkins, Charles William McLaughlin, Susan Johnson, Maryanna Quon Warner, David LaHart, Jill D. Wright (1993). Human Biology and Health. Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey, USA: Prentice Hall. ISBN 0-13-981176-1. 
  3. ^ O’Connell S, Impeduglia T, Hessler K, Wang XJ, Carroll R, Dardik H. Autologous platelet-rich fibrin matrix as cell therapy in the healing of chronic lower-extremity ulcers. Wound Rep Reg 2008; 16:749-756.
  4. ^ Sánchez M, Anitua E, Azofra J, Andía I, Padilla S, Mujika I. Comparison of surgically repaired Achilles tendon tears using platelet-rich fibrin matrices. The American Journal of Sports Medicine 2007; 35 (2): 245-51.
  5. ^ Knighton DR, Ciresi KF, Fiegel VD, Austin LL, Butler ELL. Classification and treatment of chronic nonhealing wounds: successful treatment with autologous platelet-derived wound healing factors (PDWHF). Ann surg 1986; 204:322-30.
  6. ^ Knighton DR, Ciresi K, Fiegel VD, Schumerth S, Butler E, Cerra F. Stimulation of repair in chronic, non healing, cutaneous ulcers using platelet-derived wound healing formula. Surg Gynecol Obstet 1990; 170:56-60.
  7. ^ Celotti F, Colciago A, Negri-Cesi P, Pravettoni A, Zaninetti R, Sacchi MC. Effect of platelet-rich plasma on migration and proliferation of SaOS-2 osteoblasts: role of platelet-derived growth factor and transforming growth factor-β. Wound Rep Regen 2006; 14:195-202.
  8. ^ McAleer JP, Sharma S, Kaplan EM, Perisch G. Use of autologous platelet concentrate in a nonhealing lower extremity wound. Adv Skin Wound Care 2006; 19:354-63.
  9. ^ Driver VR, Hanft J, Fylling CP, Beriou JM. Arospective, randomized, controlled trial of autologous platelet-rich plasma gel for the treatment of diabetic foot ulcers. Ostomy Wound Manage 2006;52:68-87.
  10. ^ Movat H.Zet al. (1965). "Platelet Phagocytosis and Aggregation". Journal of Cell Biology 27: 531–543. doi:10.1083/jcb.27.3.531. PMID 4957257. 
  11. ^ Weyrich A.S. et al. (2004). "Platelets: signaling cells inside the immune continuum.". Trends Immunol 25: 489–495. 
  12. ^ Wagner D.D. et al. (2003). "Platelets in inflammation and thrombosis.". Thromb Vasc Biol 23: 2131–2137. 
  13. ^ Diacovo T.G. et al. (1996). "Platelet-mediated lymphocyte delivery to high endothelial venules.". Science 273: 252–255. 
  14. ^ Iannacone M. et al. (2005). "Platelets mediate cytotoxic T lymphocyte-induced liver damage". Nat Med 11: 1167–1169. 
  15. ^ Kumar & Clark (2005). "8". Clinical Medicine (Sixth ed.). Elsevier Saunders. pp. 469. ISBN 0702027634. 
  16. ^ "Platelet Function after Taking Ibuprofen for 1 Week". http://www.annals.org/cgi/content/full/142/7/I-54. Retrieved 2008-08-26. 
  17. ^ "Ibuprofen protects platelet cyclooxygenase from irreversible inhibition by aspirin". http://atvb.ahajournals.org/cgi/content/abstract/3/4/383. Retrieved 2008-08-26. 
  18. ^ Alpha-delta platelet storage pool deficiency in three generations - Platelets
  19. ^ McCarty OJT. et al. (2000). "Immobilized platelets support human colon carcinoma cell tethering, rolling, and firm adhesion under dynamic flow conditions". Blood 96: 1789–1197. 
  20. ^ Brewer DB. Max Schultze (1865), G. Bizzozero (1882) and the discovery of the platelet. Br J Haematol 2006;133:251-8. PMID 16643426.
  21. ^ Schultze M. Ein heizbarer Objecttisch und seine Verwendung bei Untersuchungen des Blutes. Arch Mikrosc Anat 1865;1:1-42.
  22. ^ Bizzozero J. Über einen neuen Forrnbestandteil des Blutes und dessen Rolle bei der Thrombose und Blutgerinnung. Arch Pathol Anat Phys Klin Med 1882;90:261-332.
  23. ^ Schoenfeld H, Spies C, Jakob C (2006). "Volume-reduced platelet concentrates". Curr. Hematol. Rep. 5 (1): 82–8. PMID 16537051. 
  24. ^ CBBS: Washed and volume-reduced Plateletpheresis units

See also

External links

The Platelet Forum A site where researchers can discuss their work and multimedia relating to platelets.


Translations: Platelet
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Dansk (Danish)
n. - blodplade

Nederlands (Dutch)
bloedplaatje

Français (French)
n. - plaquette

Deutsch (German)
n. - Blutplättchen

Ελληνική (Greek)
n. - (βιολ.) αιμοπετάλιο, θρομβοκύτταρο

Italiano (Italian)
piastrina

Português (Portuguese)
n. - plaqueta (f) (Anat.)

Русский (Russian)
тромбоцит, пластинка

Español (Spanish)
n. - plaqueta

Svenska (Swedish)
n. - blodplätt

中文(简体)(Chinese (Simplified))
血小板, 小板, 小盘

中文(繁體)(Chinese (Traditional))
n. - 血小板, 小板, 小盤

한국어 (Korean)
n. - 작은 판, 혈소판

日本語 (Japanese)
n. - 小板, 血小板

العربيه (Arabic)
‏(الاسم) صفيحه, اللويحه : إحدى لوحات الدم‏

עברית (Hebrew)
n. - ‮טסית דם, תא עגול בקריש-דם‬


 
 
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