Background: Platelet adhesion and subsequent thrombus formation on a subendothelial matrix at the site of vascular damage play a crucial role in the arrest of posttraumatic bleeding but also in different pathological thrombotic events, such as acute coronary syndrome and stroke. Recently published studies have clearly demonstrated that platelet integri αIIbβ3 is intimately involved in the occlu...

The nematode Angiostrongylus cantonensis (A.C.) is a neurotropic pathogen; stage-III larva invade the human (non-permissive host) central nervous system (CNS) to cause eosinophilic meningitis or meningoencephalitis accompanied by immunosuppression. In an A.C.-infectedmouse (another non-permissive host) model, CNS damage-associated T cell immune deficiency and severe inflammation were proposed t...

Heparanase is an endo-glucuronidase that specifically cleaves heparan sulfate (HS) and heparin polysaccharides. The enzyme is expressed at low levels in normal tissues, but is often upregulated under pathological conditions such as cancer and inflammation. Normal human platelets express exceptionally high levels of heparanase, but the functional consequences of this feature remain unknown. We i...

Authors’ address: V. Kondi and Natalia Mitrica, Centre of Haematology, Bucarest (Rumania) In a previous study, we have shown that sera with anti-platelet antibodies from thrombocytopenic patients or those having received multiple blood transfusions – females alloimmunized by pregnancy – are able to induce inhibition of platelet aggregation [2]. The present investigation is designed to study the...

BACKGROUND AND AIMS Recently, controversial results have been reported regarding the association of the polymorphisms of platelet membrane glycoproteins (HPA-2a/b, GP VI T13254C, and GP Ibα VNTR) with coronary artery disease (CAD). We performed this meta-analysis to further assess the polymorphisms of platelet membrane glycoproteins with a risk of CAD. METHODS A systematic electronic literatu...

This review covers new developments and their clinical implications in three areas: platelet antigen polymorphisms, inhibition of platelet glycoprotein IIb-IIIa, and autoimmune thrombocytopenia (ITP). In Section I, Dr. Kunicki reviews platelet polymorphisms and their clinical implications. A current tabulation of the numerous platelet antigens, both those that are platelet specific and not plat...