Hirudin and heparin enable efficient megakaryocyte differentiation of mouse bone marrow progenitors.
Hematopoietic progenitors from murine fetal liver efficiently differentiate in culture into proplatelet-producing megakaryocytes and have proved valuable to study platelet biogenesis. In contrast, megakaryocyte maturation is far less efficient in cultured bone marrow progenitors, which hampers studies in adult animals. It is shown here that addition of hirudin to media containing thrombopoietin and serum yielded a proportion of proplatelet-forming megakaryocytes similar to that in fetal liver cultures (approximately 50%) with well developed extensions and increased the release of platelet particles in the media. The effect of hirudin was maximal at 100 U/ml, and was more pronounced when it was added in the early stages of differentiation. Hirugen, which targets the thrombin anion binding exosite I, and argatroban, a selective active site blocker, also promoted proplatelet formation albeit less efficiently than hirudin. Heparin, an indirect thrombin blocker, and OTR1500, a stable heparin-like synthetic glycosaminoglycan generated proplatelets at levels comparable to hirudin. Heparin with low affinity for antithrombin was equally as effective as standard heparin, which indicates antithrombin independent effects. Use of hirudin and heparin compounds should lead to improved culture conditions and facilitate studies of platelet biogenesis in adult mice.
UMR_S949 INSERM-Université de Strasbourg, EFS-Alsace, Strasbourg, France.
Catherine
C
Strassel
Anita
A
Eckly
Catherine
C
Léon
Sylvie
S
Moog
Jean-Pierre
JP
Cazenave
Christian
C
Gachet
François
F
Lanza
D000818:Animals; D000991:Antithrombins / Q000494:pharmacology; D001792:Blood Platelets / Q000166:cytology / Q000187:drug effects; D002454:Cell Differentiation / Q000187:drug effects*; D002478:Cells, Cultured; D004305:Dose-Response Relationship, Drug; D006412:Hematopoietic Stem Cells / Q000166:cytology* / Q000187:drug effects*; D006493:Heparin / Q000494:pharmacology*; D006629:Hirudins / Q000494:pharmacology*; D008297:Male; D008533:Megakaryocytes / Q000166:cytology* / Q000187:drug effects*; D051379:Mice; D008810:Mice, Inbred C57BL; D013329:Structure-Activity Relationship
D000991:Antithrombins; D006629:Hirudins; D006493:Heparin