Platelets survey blood vessels, searching for blood vessel damage. When damage is detected, the platelets form a clump and release factors that prevent blood loss and promote repair.
Atherotrhombosis is the inappropriate clumping of platelets within blood vessels that occludes blood flow and many anti-platelet drugs are under development for the treatment of atherothrombosis.
In addition to injury, inflammation caused by infection or stroke can also induce leaky blood vessels. In the Journal of Clinical Investigation, researchers led by Wolfgang Bergmeier at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill identified the protein ITAM as a critical modulator of blood vessel integrity during inflammation.
Using a mouse model, Bergmeier and colleagues demonstrated that platelets that lack ITAM could not prevent inflammation-induced hemorrhages.
This study highlights potential complications of anti-platelet drugs that target ITAM for the treatment of atherothrombosis.
TITLE:Platelet ITAM signaling is critical for vascular integrity in inflammation