title: The molecular mechanisms that control thrombopoiesis.
abstract: 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 support of the maturation of these cells into platelet-producing cells. The molecular and cellular mechanisms through which thrombopoietin affects platelet production provide new insights into the interplay between intrinsic and extrinsic influences on hematopoiesis and highlight new opportunities to translate basic biology into clinical advances.
authors.affiliation: Department of Medicine, Division of Hematology/Oncology, University of California, San Diego, California 92103-3931, USA. kkaushansky@ucsd.edu
authors.forename: Kenneth
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Kaushansky
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001791:Blood Platelet Disorders / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology; D001792:Blood Platelets / Q000166:cytology / Q000502:physiology*; D002454:Cell Differentiation; D005786:Gene Expression Regulation; D006410:Hematopoiesis; D006412:Hematopoietic Stem Cells / Q000166:cytology; D006801:Humans; D008024:Ligands; D008954:Models, Biological; D008958:Models, Molecular; D017434:Protein Structure, Tertiary; D011518:Proto-Oncogene Proteins / Q000378:metabolism; D018121:Receptors, Cytokine / Q000378:metabolism; D053628:Receptors, Thrombopoietin; D015398:Signal Transduction; D034061:Thrombopoiesis / Q000235:genetics* / Q000502:physiology*; D013926:Thrombopoietin / Q000502:physiology; D014945:Wound Healing
chemical_list: D008024:Ligands; D011518:Proto-Oncogene Proteins; D018121:Receptors, Cytokine; D053628:Receptors, Thrombopoietin; C082218:MPL protein, human; D013926:Thrombopoietin