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Review
. 2024 Dec;56(1):2362871.
doi: 10.1080/07853890.2024.2362871. Epub 2024 Jun 20.

Research progress of megakaryocytes and platelets in lung injury

Tianzhen Hua  1   2 , Guangliang Zhang  1   2 , Yi Yao  1   2 , Haoran Jia  1   2 , Wei Liu  1   2
Affiliations
Review

Research progress of megakaryocytes and platelets in lung injury

Tianzhen Hua et al. Ann Med. 2024 Dec.

Abstract

The lung is an important site of extramedullary platelet formation, and megakaryocytes in the lung participate in immune responses in addition to platelet production. In acute lung injury and chronic lung injury, megakaryocytes and platelets play a promoting or protective role through different mechanisms. The authors reviewed the role of megakaryocytes and platelets in common clinical lung injuries with different course of disease and different pathogenic factors in order to provide new thinking for the diagnosis and treatment of lung injuries.

Keywords: Megakaryocytes; acute lung injury; acute respiratory distress syndrome; chronic lung injury; platelets.

Plain language summary

What is the context?Platelets are specialized non-nucleated blood cells produced by cytoplasmic lysis of megakaryocytes.HSCs differentiate into granular mature megakaryocytes and produce platelets.Lung is a reservoir of megakaryocytes and a site where platelets are produced in addition to bone marrow and spleen.Lung injury can be divided into acute lung injury and chronic lung injury, and characterized by different pathogenesis.Platelets and megakaryocytes are involved in hemostasis and regulation of the body ‘s inflammatory response.The disease state of the lung affects the functions of megakaryocytes and platelets.The role of megakaryocytes and platelets in acute and chronic lung injury is poorly studied.What is new?Platelets in the lung are derived not only from the spleen and bone marrow, but also from megakaryocytes in the pulmonary circulation. In this study, we demonstrated that pulmonary megakaryocytes not only produce platelets to play a hemostatic role in lung injury, but also participate in inflammation and immune response with platelets to promote the process of lung injury or play a protective role.Therefore, it was suggested in our analysis that targeting lung megakaryocytes and platelets is currently a new direction for the treatment of a variety of lung injuries.What is the impact?This review intends to explain the relationship between megakaryocytes, platelets and many types of lung injury from the mechanism of platelet production in the lung, and make a prospect in the new progress in the diagnosis and treatment of lung injury.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors report there are no competing interests to declare.

Figures

Figure 1.
Figure 1.
Biogenesis and Circulation of Megakaryocyte and Platelet. HSCs in bone marrow differentiate into megakaryocyte progenitors, which migrate to spleen, another site of hemopoiesis. Megakaryocytes mobilize into blood and release platelets in lung blood vessels through pulmonary circulation. Resident megakaryocytes in the pulmonary interstitium are found to have immunological properties.
Figure 2.
Figure 2.
Etiology and Classification of Lung Injury. Trauma, sepsis, inflammation, burn, shock and smoke constitute the common causes of lung injuries. ARDS, pneumonia and TRALI are types of ALI with megakaryocytes and platelets involvement. Megakaryocytes and platelets also associated with chronic lung injury, e.g. COPD, PAH, lung fibrosis and NSCLC.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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