title: Megakaryocyte rupture for acute platelet needs.
abstract: Circulating platelets were thought to arise solely from the protrusion and fragmentation of megakaryocyte cytoplasm. Now, Nishimura et al. (2015. J. Cell Biol. http://dx.doi.org/10.1083/jcb.201410052) show that platelet release from megakaryocytes can be induced by interleukin-1α (IL-1α) via a new rupture mechanism, which yields higher platelet numbers, occurs independently of the key regulator of megakaryopoiesis thrombopoietin, and may occur during situations of acute platelet need.
authors.affiliation: Department of Experimental Biomedicine, University Hospital and Rudolf Virchow Center, University of Würzburg, 97070 Würzburg, Germany bernhard.nieswandt@virchow.uni-wuerzburg.de.
authors.forename: Bernhard
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Nieswandt
authors.affiliation: Department of Experimental Biomedicine, University Hospital and Rudolf Virchow Center, University of Würzburg, 97070 Würzburg, Germany.
authors.forename: Simon
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Stritt
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001792:Blood Platelets / Q000378:metabolism*; D053582:Interleukin-1alpha / Q000378:metabolism*; D008533:Megakaryocytes / Q000378:metabolism*; D034061:Thrombopoiesis / Q000502:physiology*; D013926:Thrombopoietin / Q000378:metabolism*
chemical_list: D053582:Interleukin-1alpha; D013926:Thrombopoietin