Submitted by Administrator on Mon, 30/03/2015 - 00:13
Gray platelet syndrome: proinflammatory megakaryocytes and α-granule loss cause myelofibrosis and confer metastasis resistance in mice
NBEAL2 encodes a multidomain scaffolding protein with a putative role in granule ontogeny in human platelets. Mutations in NBEAL2 underlie gray platelet syndrome (GPS), a rare inherited bleeding disorder characterized by a lack of α-granules within blood platelets and progressive bone marrow fibrosis. We present here a novel Nbeal2−/− murine model of GPS and demonstrate that the lack of α-granules is due to their loss from platelets/mature megakaryocytes (MKs), and not by initial impaired formation. We show that the lack of Nbeal2 confers a proinflammatory phenotype to the bone marrow MKs, which in combination with the loss of proteins from α-granules drives the development of bone marrow fibrosis. In addition, we demonstrate that α-granule deficiency impairs platelet function beyond their purely hemostatic role and that Nbeal2 deficiency has a protective effect against cancer metastasis.
- Guerrero, J.A. et al. Gray platelet syndrome: proinflammatory megakaryocytes and α-granule loss cause myelofibrosis and confer metastasis resistance in mice. Blood 2014; 124(24):3624-35 Blood 2014; 124(24):3624-35