Platelet generation from circulating megakaryocytes is triggered in the lung vasculature

Abstract

Platelets, small hemostatic blood cells, are derived from megakaryocytes, although the generation process is not clear. Only small numbers of platelets have been produced in systems outside the body, where bone marrow and lung are proposed as sites of platelet generation. Here we show that perfusion of megakaryocytes ex vivo through the mouse lung vasculature generates very large numbers of platelets, up to 3,000 per megakaryocyte. Despite their large size, megakaryocytes were able repeatedly to passage through the lung vasculature, leading to enucleation and fragmentation to generate platelets intravascularly. Using the ex vivo lung and a novel in vitro microfluidic chamber we determined the contributions of oxygenation, ventilation and endothelial cell health to platelet generation, and showed a critical role for the actin regulator TPM4. One-Sentence SummaryMegakaryocytes form platelets intravascularly in the lung, dependent upon oxygenation, endothelium and megakaryocyte TPM4