BACKGROUND Patients with cirrhosis usually have thrombocytopenia in discrete levels. The mechanism of thrombocytopenia is thought as splenic sequestration and destruction of platelets, impaired bone marrow generation and diminished hepatic thrombopoietin synthesis. OBJECTIVES The aim of this study was to evaluate serum thrombopoietin levels and its relationship with thrombocytopenia at patien...

Thrombocytopenia is a common hematologic disorder. Stimulation of thrombopoiesis may reduce the risk for thrombocytopenia-induced bleeding, prevent severe thrombocytopenia, and reduce the need for platelet transfusion. The key cytokine is thrombopoietin (TPO). It regulates proliferation and maturation of megakaryocytes as well as platelet production. TPO is synthesized in the liver. Development...

Although the term thrombopoietin was first used nearly 40 years ago to describe the humoral regulator of platelet production, doubts surrounding its existence remained until the molecule was cloned 3 years ago. Using the recombinant protein, several investigators have shown that thrombopoietin influences all aspects of megakaryocyte development, from the hematopoietic stem cell to the mature pl...