title: Nouvelle cuisine: platelets served with inflammation.
abstract: Platelets are small cellular fragments with the primary physiological role of maintaining hemostasis. In addition to this well-described classical function, it is becoming increasingly clear that platelets have an intimate connection with infection and inflammation. This stems from several platelet characteristics, including their ability to bind infectious agents and secrete many immunomodulatory cytokines and chemokines, as well as their expression of receptors for various immune effector and regulatory functions, such as TLRs, which allow them to sense pathogen-associated molecular patterns. Furthermore, platelets contain RNA that can be nascently translated under different environmental stresses, and they are able to release membrane microparticles that can transport inflammatory cargo to inflammatory cells. Interestingly, acute infections can also result in platelet breakdown and thrombocytopenia. This report highlights these relatively new aspects of platelets and, thus, their nonhemostatic nature in an inflammatory setting.
authors.affiliation: Toronto Platelet Immunobiology Group, Keenan Research Centre for Biomedical Science, St. Michael's Hospital, Toronto, Ontario M5B 1W8, Canada; Canadian Blood Services, Toronto, Ontario M5B 1W8, Canada;
authors.forename: Rick
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Kapur
authors.affiliation: Toronto Platelet Immunobiology Group, Keenan Research Centre for Biomedical Science, St. Michael's Hospital, Toronto, Ontario M5B 1W8, Canada;
authors.forename: Anne
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Zufferey
authors.affiliation: Centre de Recherche en Rhumatologie et Immunologie, Centre de Recherche du Centre Hospitalier Universitaire de Québec, Faculté de Médecine de l'Université Laval, Quebec City, Quebec G1V 4G2, Canada;
authors.forename: Eric
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Boilard
authors.affiliation: Toronto Platelet Immunobiology Group, Keenan Research Centre for Biomedical Science, St. Michael's Hospital, Toronto, Ontario M5B 1W8, Canada; Canadian Blood Services, Toronto, Ontario M5B 1W8, Canada; Department of Pharmacology, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario M5B 1W8, Canada; Department of Medicine, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario M5B 1W8, Canada; and Department of Laboratory Medicine and Pathobiology, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario M5B 1W8, Canada semplej@smh.ca.
authors.forename: John W
authors.initials: JW
authors.lastname: Semple
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001792:Blood Platelets / Q000276:immunology* / Q000378:metabolism*; D023201:CD40 Ligand / Q000378:metabolism; D055252:Cell-Derived Microparticles / Q000378:metabolism; D016207:Cytokines / Q000378:metabolism; D015395:Histocompatibility Antigens Class I / Q000276:immunology / Q000378:metabolism; D054884:Host-Pathogen Interactions / Q000235:genetics / Q000276:immunology; D006801:Humans; D007249:Inflammation / Q000235:genetics / Q000276:immunology* / Q000378:metabolism*; D013921:Thrombocytopenia / Q000235:genetics / Q000276:immunology / Q000378:metabolism; D051193:Toll-Like Receptors / Q000378:metabolism; D059467:Transcriptome
chemical_list: D016207:Cytokines; D015395:Histocompatibility Antigens Class I; D051193:Toll-Like Receptors; D023201:CD40 Ligand