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posted by Fnord666 on Tuesday May 19 2020, @07:55AM   Printer-friendly
from the clot-and-regulate dept.
Platelets exacerbate immune response: Clotting cells are also an important regulator of inflammation:

Platelets not only play a key role in blood clotting, but can also significantly intensify inflammatory processes. This is shown by a new study carried out by scientists from the University of Bonn together with colleagues from Sao Paulo (Brazil). In the medium term, the results could open up new ways to treat autoimmune diseases. They have now been published in the journal Cell Reports.

For a long time, the role of platelets appeared to be clear: in the event of an injury, they adhere to the wound and stick to each other to rapidly stop the bleeding. This wound closure mechanism works quickly and efficiently, but its protagonists were not considered to have any other functions.

For some years now, this picture has begun to change significantly: these tiny cells, each of which is about the size of an intestinal bacterium, are also believed to perform important functions in the immune system. The current study by the universities of Bonn and Sao Paulo supports this thesis: it shows that platelets ensure that the white blood cells (the leukocytes) secrete significantly more inflammatory messengers. "It is possible that this effect contributes to the often severe course of autoimmune diseases," explains Prof. Dr. Bernardo Franklin from the Institute of Innate Immunity at the University Hospital Bonn. "These are diseases in which the immune system attacks and destroys the body's own tissue."

In their study, the researchers focused on an important immune mechanism: the activation of the NLRP3 inflammasome. Inflammasomes are molecular machines that consist of a number of different proteins. Among other things, they are able to convert inactive inflammatory messengers into their active form. One of them is the interleukin 1 (IL-1). When cells secrete IL-1, they call on other immune cells to help and thereby trigger a strong inflammatory reaction. As this can also become dangerous for the body, the activity of the inflammasomes, and hence also the formation of IL-1, is strictly regulated.

[...] However, one important message of the current study is of a more general nature: isolated blood cells in culture often behave very differently than in their natural environment, where they communicate with numerous other cells. "Experiments in the test tube therefore do not provide complete insight into the processes happening in the body," emphasizes Prof. Franklin. "Still, most of research into inflammasomes are based on them, which is a fact we should rethink." After all, platelets may only reveal their additional immune functions in concert with white blood cells.

Verena Rolfes, Lucas Secchim Ribeiro, Ibrahim Hawwari, Lisa Böttcher, Nathalia Rosero, Salie Maasewerd, Marina Lima Silva Santos, Tomasz Próchnicki, Camila Meirelles de Souza Silva, Carlos Wagner de Souza Wanderley, Maximilian Rothe, Susanne V. Schmidt, H. James Stunden, Damien Bertheloot, Magali Noval Rivas, Cor Jesus Fontes, Luzia Helena Carvalho, Fernando Queiroz Cunha, Eicke Latz, Moshe Arditi, Bernardo Simoes Franklin. Platelets Fuel the Inflammasome Activation of Innate Immune Cells. Cell Reports, 2020; 31 (6): 107615 DOI: 10.1016/j.celrep.2020.107615


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  • (Score: 1, Interesting) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday May 19 2020, @11:13AM

    by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday May 19 2020, @11:13AM (#996274)

    That makes sense, both from a bodily function point of view and from experiences with a previous girlfriend. If the skin is cut, and platelets coagulate to close the wound, you would want the platelets to mobilize the immune system to immediately fend off any infection in the open wound.

    A girlfriend I had suffered from APLS [wikipedia.org], which is an autoimmune disorder characterized by in-body blood coagulation. In her case, it mostly manifested as migraines and spontaneously-appearing skin bruises. As an added bonus, normal blood cultures would never come up positive for any infection: both her and her mother had the GP put an explicit note in their medical records to tell other doctors no not trust quick blood examinations: a 2-3 day culture was required for all antibody tests, even the ones that don't require one in normal people. At the time, we thought the clotting was caused by the in-body infection responses, but given this research, it seems more likely that the thrombosis was causing the responses instead.

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