Platelets exacerbate immune response
Clotting cells are also an important regulator of inflammation, reveals study by the University of Bonn
Platelets not only play a key role in blood clotting, but can also significantly intensify inflammatory processes. This is shown by a new study carried out by scientists from the Cluster of Excellence ImmunoSensation together with colleagues from Sao Paulo (Brazil). In the medium term, the results could open up new ways to treat autoimmune diseases. They have now been published in the renowned journal Cell Reports. For a long time, the role of platelets appeared to be clear: in the event of an injury, they adhere to the wound and stick to each other to rapidly stop the bleeding. This wound closure mechanism works quickly and efficiently, but its protagonists were not considered to have any other functions. For some years now, this picture has begun to change significantly: these tiny cells, each of which is about the size of an intestinal bacterium, are also believed to perform important functions in the immune system. The current study by the universities of Bonn and Sao Paulo supports this thesis: it shows that platelets ensure that the white blood cells (the leukocytes) secrete significantly more inflammatory messengers. "It is possible that this effect contributes to the often severe course of autoimmune diseases," explains Prof. Dr. Bernardo Franklin from the Institute of Innate Immunity at the University Hospital Bonn. "These are diseases in which the immune system attacks and destroys the body's own tissue."
Publication
Verena Rolfes, Lucas Secchim Ribeiro, Ibrahim Hawwari, Lisa Böttcher, Nathalia Rosero, Salie Maasewerd, Marina Lima Silva Santos, Tomasz Próchnicki, Camila Meirelles de Souza Silva, Carlos Wagner de Souza Wanderley, Maximilian Rothe, Susanne V. Schmidt, H. James Stunden, Damien Bertheloot, Magali Noval Rivas, Cor Jesus Fontes, Luzia Helena Carvalho, Fernando de Queiroz Cunha, Eicke Latz, Moshe Arditi and Bernardo Simoes Franklin: Platelets fuel the inflammasome activation of innate immune cells; Cell Reports, DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.celrep.2020.107615
