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Review Article
Emerging Roles for Platelets in Inflammation and Disease
| Yancy Ferrer-Acosta1, Marieli González2, Mónica Fernández3 and Valance Washington A1,2* | ||
| 1 University of Puerto Rico, Rio Piedras Campus, San Juan, Puerto Rico, USA | ||
| 2 Universidad Central del Caribe, Bayamón, Puerto Rico, USA | ||
| 3 University of Puerto Rico, Mayagüez Campus, Mayagüez, Puerto Rico, USA | ||
| Corresponding Author : | Anthony Valance Washington Department of Biology University of Puerto Rico – Rio Piedras Campus, USA Tel: +1787764-0000 Fax: +1787264-2610 E-mail: valancew@gmail.com |
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| Received May 19, 2014; Accepted June 18, 2014; Published June 24, 2014 | ||
| Citation: Ferrer-Acosta Y, González M, Fernández M, Washington AV (2014) Emerging Roles for Platelets in Inflammation and Disease. J Infect Dis Ther 2:149. doi: 10.4172/2332-0877.1000149 | ||
| Copyright: © 2014 Washington AV. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited. | ||
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Abstract
Platelets and their interaction with cells of the immune system contribute through a variety of molecular mechanisms to support hemostasis and inflammation. These simple yet essential cells exert their effects in lymphocytes, monocytes, and neutrophils, both recruiting and modulating their function after activation. Emerging evidence is starting to define the mechanisms that allow platelets to also play pivotal roles in host defense. For example, platelet cell-surface expression of toll-like receptors allows platelets to direct neutrophil activation toward extracellular trap formation and facilitate the elimination of blood pathogens. In addition to these well-known receptors, two of the most recently discovered platelet receptors, C-type lectin receptor 2 (CLEC-2), and TREM-like transcript-1 (TLT-1), have been shown to modulate hemostatic and inflammation-related roles in platelets. This review will discuss the evolution of our understanding of platelet functions from hemostasis to inflammation, and highlight novel mechanisms that platelets use to mediate hemostasis under inflammatory pressure.
