title: Platelet precursors display bipolar behavior.
abstract: In this issue, Thon et al. (2010. J. Cell Biol. doi: 10.1083/jcb.201006102) demonstrate that newly released platelets exhibit bipolar behavior, shifting back and forth between round cells and multibodied proplatelets (Thon et al., 2010). The authors define this intermediate as a preplatelet and, in doing so, shed new insight into the terminal steps of platelet maturation.
authors.affiliation: Program in Molecular Medicine, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT 84112, USA.
authors.forename: Hansjörg
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Schwertz
authors.forename: Andrew S
authors.initials: AS
authors.lastname: Weyrich
mesh_terms: D001792:Blood Platelets / Q000166:cytology / Q000502:physiology; D002454:Cell Differentiation / Q000502:physiology; D006801:Humans