Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Review
. 2020 Aug 13;9(8):2636.
doi: 10.3390/jcm9082636.

Advances in Platelet Function Testing-Light Transmission Aggregometry and Beyond

Jessica Le Blanc  1   2 , François Mullier  3 , Caroline Vayne  4   5 , Marie Lordkipanidzé  1   2
Affiliations
Review

Advances in Platelet Function Testing-Light Transmission Aggregometry and Beyond

Jessica Le Blanc et al. J Clin Med. .

Abstract

Platelet function testing is essential for the diagnosis of hemostasis disorders. While there are many methods used to test platelet function for research purposes, standardization is often lacking, limiting their use in clinical practice. Light transmission aggregometry has been the gold standard for over 60 years, with inherent challenges of working with live dynamic cells in specialized laboratories with independent protocols. In recent years, standardization efforts have brought forward fully automated systems that could lead to more widespread use. Additionally, new technical approaches appear promising for the future of specialized hematology laboratories. This review presents developments in platelet function testing for clinical applications.

Keywords: light transmission aggregometry; platelet functional tests; platelets; standardization.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

J.L.B. declares no conflict of interest. F.M. reports institutional fees from Stago, Werfen, Nodia, Sysmex and Bayer. He also reports speaker fees from Boehringer Ingelheim, Bayer Healthcare, Bristol-Myers Squibb-Pfizer, Werfen, Aspen, Sysmex and Stago, all outside the submitted work. C.V. reports a cooperation contract between Stago and the University of Tours and non-financial support from Shire, Sobi, Roche, CSL Behring, Takeda, all outside the present work. M.L. has received speaker honoraria from Bayer, has served on advisory boards for Servier, has participated in industry-funded trials from Idorsia, and has received in-kind and financial support for investigator-initiated grants from Leo Pharma, Roche Diagnostics, Aggredyne, and Fujimori Kogyo. The funders had no role in the design of the study; in the collection, analyses, or interpretation of data; in the writing of the manuscript, or in the decision to publish the results.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Principle of the T-TAS® system for simplified evaluation of platelet plug formation in clinical laboratories. Reproduced with permission from Fujimori Kogyo, Co. Ltd, Tokyo, Japan.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Duke W.W. The relation of blood platelets to hemorrhagic disease. Description of a method for determining the bleeding time and the coagulation time and report of three cases of hemorrahagic disease relieved by blood transfusion. JAMA. 1910;55:1185–1192. doi: 10.1001/jama.1910.04330140029009. - DOI
    1. Born G.V. Aggregation of blood platelets by adenosine diphosphate and its reversal. Nature. 1962;194:927–929. doi: 10.1038/194927b0. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Chan M.V., Armstrong P.C., Warner T.D. 96-well plate-based aggregometry. Platelets. 2018;29:650–655. doi: 10.1080/09537104.2018.1445838. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Brouns S.L.N., van Geffen J.P., Heemskerk J.W.M. High-throughput measurement of human platelet aggregation under flow: Application in hemostasis and beyond. Platelets. 2018 doi: 10.1080/09537104.2018.1447660. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Clayton S., Born G.V., Cross M.J. Inhibition of the Aggregation of Blood Platelets by Nucleosides. Nature. 1963;200:138–139. doi: 10.1038/200138a0. - DOI - PubMed

LinkOut - more resources