Platelets, whose primary function is to prevent bleeding, are vital for treating various forms of trauma and blood diseases.
However, they can only be obtained through blood donations at present. Researchers reporting online February 13 in the Cell Press journal Cell Stem Cell recently found a way to create platelets without the need for donated blood, an advance that could possibly erase supply shortages and ensure platelet treatments for all who need them.
The supply of donated platelets, which have a short shelf life and must be kept at room temperature, is often insufficient to meet clinical needs. In addition, while transfused platelets do not typically need to be immune-matched to patients, repeated transfusion of unmatched platelets leads to an immune reaction that eventually renders patients unresponsive to platelet transfusion therapy.
To address these limitations, investigators from Japan developed a strategy to derive functional platelets from human induced pluripotent stem cells. Induced pluripotent stem cells can be generated from various types of cells in the body, and they can in turn be coaxed to develop into nearly any other cell type. In the current study, the approach involved genetically manipulating such stem cells to become stable immortalized lines of platelet-producing cells called megakaryocyte progenitors.
The megakaryocyte progenitors could produce large quantities of platelets with clotting capabilities that were similar to those of donated platelets. Unlike freshly donated platelets, though, the immortalized megakaryocyte progenitors could be expanded and frozen for long-term storage.
“Here we established a method to achieve the long-term self-replication of megakaryocyte progenitors as an immortalized cell line, which could eventually contribute to large-scale cultivation and production of platelets,” says senior author Dr. Koji Eto of Kyoto University and the University of Tokyo.
The Latest on: Platelet supply
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The Latest on: Platelet supply
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- Race to help save lives by giving blood, plateletson May 1, 2024 at 6:30 am
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- Amarillo area community news, invites, events and moreon April 28, 2024 at 2:15 am
The Coffee Memorial Blood Center is calling on donors to step up and give platelets as the current supply is running low. Platelets are essential parts of blood crucial for clotting and preventing ...
- Dear Doctor: Are there health risks to donating blood platelets too often?on April 25, 2024 at 11:00 pm
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- Coffee Memorial Blood Center seeks platelet donations amid low supplyon April 23, 2024 at 2:33 pm
AMARILLO, Texas (KAMR/KCIT) – Officials with the Coffee Memorial Blood Center asked community members to donate blood platelets amid current issues with a low supply. Platelets are essential ...
- Race to help save lives by giving blood or platelets; win trip to NASCAR Cup Serieson April 23, 2024 at 9:17 am
As May approaches, the American Red Cross reminds donors to keep the blood supply stable by giving blood or platelets. Donors of all blood types − especially type O blood donors and those giving ...
- Startup SelSym hopes to control bleeding with squishy synthetic plateletson April 15, 2024 at 9:30 pm
Like whole blood for transplants, platelets are perpetually in short supply. But these sticky cell fragments come with an added challenge—while whole blood can be kept for as long as 35 days ...
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