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Platelets, small anucleated blood cells responsible for hemostasis, interact at sights of injury with several exposed extracellular matrix (ECM) proteins through specific receptors. Ligand binding leads to activation, adhesion and aggregation of platelets. Already megakaryocytes (MKs), the immediate precursor cells in bone marrow (BM), are in constant contact to these ECM proteins (ECMP). The interaction of ECMP with MKs is, in contrast to platelets, less well understood. It is therefore important to study how MKs interact with sinusoids via the underlying ECMP. This thesis addresses three major topics to elucidate these interactions and their role in platelet biogenesis.
First, we studied the topology of ECMP within BM and their impact on proplatelet formation (PPF) in vitro. By establishing a four-color immunofluorescence microscopy we localized collagens and other ECMP and determined their degree of contact towards vessels and megakaryocytes (MKs). In in vitro assays we could demonstrate that Col I mediates increased MK adhesion, but inhibits PPF by collagen receptor GPVI. By immunoblot analyses we identified that the signaling events underyling this inhibition are different from those in platelet activation at the Src family kinase level.
Second, we determined the degree of MK-ECM interaction in situ using confocal laser scanning microscopy of four-color IF-stained femora and spleen sections. In transgenic mouse models lacking either of the two major collagen receptors we could show that these mice have an impaired association of MKs to collagens in the BM, while the MK count in spleen increased threefold. This might contribute to the overall unaltered platelet counts in collagen receptor-deficient mice.
In a third approach, we studied how the equilibrium of ECMP within BM is altered after irradiation. Collagen type IV and laminin-α5 subunits were selectively degraded at the sinusoids, while the matrix degrading protease MMP9 was upregulated in MKs. Platelet numbers decreased and platelets became hyporesponsive towards agonists, especially those for GPVI activation.
Taken together, the results indicate that MK-ECM interaction differs substantially from the well-known platelet-ECM signaling. Future work should further elucidate how ECMP can be targeted to ameliorate the platelet production and function defects, especially in patients after BM irradiation.
In physiological conditions platelets have a major role in maintaining haemostasis. Platelets prevent bleeding from wounds by distinguishing normal endothelial cells in vasculature from areas with lesions to which they adhere. Interaction of platelet agonists and their receptors is controlled by intracellular signaling molecules that regulate the activation state of platelets. Very important intracellular signaling molecules are cyclic nucleotides (cGMP and cAMP), both involved in inhibition of platelet activation. Formation of cGMP and cAMP in platelets is stimulated by endothelial-derived NO and prostacyclin (PGI2), which then mediate inhibition of platelets by activating protein kinase G (PKG) and protein kinase A (PKA). Recently, it has been suggested that reactive oxygen species (ROS) represent new modulators of cell signaling within different cell types. The work summarized here describes the involvement of platelet ROS production in platelet activation, the relation of NO/cGMP/PKG I pathway to ROS and to mitogen-activated protein kinases (MAP kinase) signaling, and the involvement of cyclic nucleotides in megakaryocyte and platelet development. Platelets activated with different agonists produce intracellular but not extracellular ROS by activation of NAD(P)H oxidase. In addition, ROS produced in platelets significantly affects αIIbβ3 integrin activation but not alpha/dense granule secretion and platelet shape change. Thrombin induced integrin αIIbβ3 activation is significantly decreased after pretreatment of platelets with NAD(P)H oxidase inhibitors and superoxide scavengers. These inhibitors also reduce platelet aggregation and thrombus formation on collagen under high shear and achieve their effects independently of the NO/cGMP pathway. ADP secreted from platelet dense granules with subsequent activation of P2Y12 receptors as well as thromboxane A2 release are found to be important upstream mediators of p38 MAP kinase activation by thrombin. However, p38 MAP kinase activation does not significantly contribute to calcium mobilization, P-selectin expression, αIIbβ3 integrin activation and aggregation of human platelets in response to thrombin. Finally, PKG activation does not stimulate, but rather inhibit, p38 and ERK MAP kinases in human platelets. Further study revealed that cyclic nucleotides not only inhibit platelet activation, but are also involved, albeit differentially, in megakaryocyte and platelet development. cAMP is engaged in haematopoietic stem cell differentiation to megakaryocytes, and cGMP has no impact on this process. While PKA is already present in stem cells, expression of proteins involved in cGMP signaling (soluble guanylyl cyclase, sGC; PKG) increases with maturation of megakaryocytes. In the final step of megakaryocyte maturation that includes release of platelets, cGMP and cAMP have mild but opposing effects: cGMP increases platelet production while cAMP decreases it indicating a finely regulated process that could depend on stimulus coming from adjacent endothelial cells of sinusoids in bone marrow. The results of this thesis contribute to a better understanding of platelet regulation and of the possible molecular mechanisms involved in megakaryocyte maturation in bone marrow vascular microenvironment.