Platelets mediate the clearance of senescent red blood cells by forming prophagocytic platelet-cell complexes.

ABSTRACT: In humans, ∼0.1% to 0.3% of circulating red blood cells (RBCs) are present as platelet-RBC (P-RBC) complexes, and it is 1% to 2% in mice. Excessive P-RBC complexes are found in diseases that compromise RBC health (eg, sickle cell disease and malaria) and contribute to pathogenesis. However, the physiological role of P-RBC complexes in healthy blood is unknown. As a result of damage accumulated over their lifetime, RBCs nearing senescence exhibit physiological and molecular changes akin to those in platelet-binding RBCs in sickle cell disease and malaria. Therefore, we hypothesized that RBCs nearing senescence are targets for platelet binding and P-RBC formation. Confirming this hypothesis, pulse-chase labeling studies in mice revealed an approximately tenfold increase in P-RBC complexes in the most chronologically aged RBC population compared with younger cells. When reintroduced into mice, these complexes were selectively cleared from the bloodstream (in preference to platelet-free RBC) through the reticuloendothelial system and erythrophagocytes in the spleen. As a corollary, patients without a spleen had higher levels of complexes in their bloodstream. When the platelet supply was artificially reduced in mice, fewer RBC complexes were formed, fewer erythrophagocytes were generated, and more senescent RBCs remained in circulation. Similar imbalances in complex levels and senescent RBC burden were observed in humans with immune thrombocytopenia (ITP). These findings indicate that platelets are important for binding and clearing senescent RBCs, and disruptions in platelet count or complex formation and clearance may negatively affect RBC homeostasis and may contribute to the known risk of thrombosis in ITP and after splenectomy.

Immune thrombocytopenia: antiplatelet autoantibodies inhibit proplatelet formation by megakaryocytes and impair platelet production in vitro.

Primary immune thrombocytopenia is an autoimmune disease mediated by antiplatelet autoantibodies that cause platelet destruction and suppression of platelet production. In vitro effects of autoantibodies on megakaryocyte production and maturation have been reported recently. However, the impact of these autoantibodies on crucial megakaryocyte functions, proplatelet formation and subsequent platelet release, has not been evaluated. We examined the effects of serum and IgG from 19 patients with immune thrombocytopenia using day 8 or 9 megakaryocytes (66.3 ± 10.6% CD41(+)), derived from cord blood hematopoietic stem cells (CD34(+)). The number of proplatelet-bearing megakaryocytes, the number of platelets released in the culture, total megakaryocyte numbers, ploidy pattern and caspase activation were measured at various times after treatment. After 5 days of treatment the number of proplatelet-bearing megakaryocytes was significantly decreased by 13 immune thrombocytopenia autoantibodies relative to the control group (P<0.0001) and this decrease was accompanied by a corresponding reduction of platelet release. Other features, including total megakaryocyte numbers, maturation and apoptosis, were not affected by immune thrombocytopenia antibodies. Treating the megakaryocytes with the thrombopoietin receptor agonists romiplostim and eltrombopag reversed the effect of the autoantibodies on megakaryocytes by restoring their capacity to form proplatelets. We conclude that antiplatelet antibodies in immune thrombocytopenia inhibit proplatelet formation by megakaryocytes and hence the ability of the megakaryocytes to release platelets. Treatment with either romiplostim or eltrombopag regenerates proplatelet formation from the megakaryocytes.

A novel flow cytometry procoagulant assay for diagnosis of vaccine-induced immune thrombotic thrombocytopenia.

Vaccine-induced immune thrombotic thrombocytopenia (VITT) is a severe prothrombotic complication of adenoviral vaccines, including the ChAdOx1 nCoV-19 (Vaxzevria) vaccine. The putative mechanism involves formation of pathological anti-platelet factor 4 (PF4) antibodies that activate platelets via the low-affinity immunoglobulin G receptor FcγRIIa to drive thrombosis and thrombocytopenia. Functional assays are important for VITT diagnosis, as not all detectable anti-PF4 antibodies are pathogenic, and immunoassays have varying sensitivity. Combination of ligand binding of G protein-coupled receptors (protease-activated receptor-1) and immunoreceptor tyrosine-based activation motif-linked receptors (FcγRIIa) synergistically induce procoagulant platelet formation, which supports thrombin generation. Here, we describe a flow cytometry-based procoagulant platelet assay using cell death marker GSAO and P-selectin to diagnose VITT by exposing donor whole blood to patient plasma in the presence of a protease-activated receptor-1 agonist. Consecutive patients triaged for confirmatory functional VITT testing after screening using PF4/heparin ELISA were evaluated. In a development cohort of 47 patients with suspected VITT, plasma from ELISA-positive patients (n = 23), but not healthy donors (n = 32) or individuals exposed to the ChAdOx1 nCov-19 vaccine without VITT (n = 24), significantly increased the procoagulant platelet response. In a validation cohort of 99 VITT patients identified according to clinicopathologic adjudication, procoagulant flow cytometry identified 93% of VITT cases, including ELISA-negative and serotonin release assay-negative patients. The in vitro effect of intravenous immunoglobulin (IVIg) and fondaparinux trended with the clinical response seen in patients. Induction of FcγRIIa-dependent procoagulant response by patient plasma, suppressible by heparin and IVIg, is highly indicative of VITT, resulting in a sensitive and specific assay that has been adopted as part of a national diagnostic algorithm to identify vaccinated patients with platelet-activating antibodies.