Platelet transfusions are commonly used for prophylaxis and treatment of bleeding. After a transfusion, an increment or "boost" is expected to occur. While a number of factors can contribute to a poor posttransfusion increment, refractoriness is typically defined as failure to achieve an appropriate increment after receiving 2 consecutive transfusions with fresh ABO-compatible platelets. The mo...

We investigated the association between the polymorphism of human platelet alloantigen genes HPA-1-HPA-5 and the complication of type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) by carotid atherosclerosis (CA) among Han people in Guiyang District, China. Ninety-nine T2DM patients were selected from the Affiliated Hospital of Guiyang Medical College and divided into a CA(+) group and a CA(-) group. A control gro...

Petechiae or echymoses and severe thrombocytopenia (< 20 × 10 platelets/litre) is a worrying and serious condition in newborn infants. Rapid correction of the platelet count is essential to prevent cerebral bleeding and associated life long disability, and this should be combined with laboratory investigations to confirm the clinical diagnosis. Prospective studies have revealed that the most li...

In this issue of Blood, Kapur et al show that maternal human platelet-specific antigen 1a (HPA 1a)-specific antibodies causing neonatal alloimmune thrombocytopenia (NAIT) possess oligosaccharides that are deficient in "core fucose" residues and appear to be more effective than fucosylated antibodies in promoting phagocytosis of antibody-coated platelets.

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE Few genetic modifications have been identified to be associated with subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH), most of them playing a role in the formation or size of aneurysms. METHODS We evaluated the role of common and functional polymorphisms affecting the main platelet adhesive glycoproteins (GP) (GPIIIa: HPA-1; GPIa: HPA-5 and C807T; GPIbalpha: HPA-2 and VNTR) in the risk fo...

Petechiae or echymoses and severe thrombocytopenia (< 20 × 10 platelets/litre) is a worrying and serious condition in newborn infants. Rapid correction of the platelet count is essential to prevent cerebral bleeding and associated life long disability, and this should be combined with laboratory investigations to confirm the clinical diagnosis. Prospective studies have revealed that the most li...

Immunochemical and functional characteristics of tumor cell membrane proteins and human platelet glycoproteins were studied. Immunoblotting revealed that membrane proteins of a cultured breast tumor cell line (BT-20) had three protein bands, which were each recognized by monoclonal antibodies to human platelet glycoprotein Ib, IIb, and IIIa, suggesting some immunochemical similarities between t...

Repeatedly transfused thrombocytopenic patients frequently form antibodies directed against human leukocyte antigens (HLA) and become unresponsive to random donor platelet transfusions. Although exposure to foreign antigens borne on donor leukocytes appears necessary to provoke primary sensitization, the stability of leukocyte antigens during routine platelet storage is largely unknown. Accordi...