Platelets: at the nexus of antimicrobial defence.
Platelets have traditionally been viewed as fragmentary mediators of coagulation. However, recent molecular and cellular evidence suggests that they have multiple roles in host defence against infection. From first-responders that detect pathogens and rapidly deploy host-defence peptides, to beacons that recruit and enhance leukocyte functions in the context of infection, to liaisons that facilitate the T cell-B cell crosstalk that is required in adaptive immunity, platelets represent a nexus at the intersection of haemostasis and antimicrobial host defence. In this Review, I consider recent insights into the antimicrobial roles of platelets, which are mediated both directly and indirectly to integrate innate and adaptive immune responses to pathogens.
1] David Geffen School of Medicine at University of California Los Angeles, 10833 Le Conte Avenue, Los Angeles, California 90095, USA. [2] Department of Medicine, Division of Molecular Medicine and Division of Infectious Diseases, St John's Cardiovascular Research Center, and Los Angeles Biomedical Research Institute, Harbor-University of California Los Angeles (UCLA) Medical Center, 1124 West Carson Street, Building RB-2, Torrance, California 90502, USA.
Michael R
MR
Yeaman
D056704:Adaptive Immunity / Q000502:physiology*; D000818:Animals; D001792:Blood Platelets / Q000502:physiology*; D003141:Communicable Diseases / Q000276:immunology* / Q000382:microbiology / Q000469:parasitology / Q000821:virology; D007113:Immunity, Innate / Q000502:physiology*