RESEARCH - The role of platelets as inflammatory cells in infective endocarditis

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Excerpt from " The role of platelets as inflammatory cells in infective

endocarditis - a review of the literature " :

The list of pro-inflammatory substances secreted by activated platelets is

extensive, and includes regulators of intracellular aggregation, chemotaxis,

angiogenesis, fibrin matrix degradation and signalling events in target

cells of the immune system. This is logical, as platelets are among the

first cells to accumulate at the site of injury, and local release of their

secretory arsenal initiates an inflammatory cascade that attracts

leukocytes, activates target cells and effects vessel repair (Weyrich et

al., 2003). These products are derived from intracellular storage granules

as well as eicosanoid and phospholipid synthesis and are released on

platelet activation. Thrombin and platelet-activating

factor (PAF) at the site of injury or the bacterium-platelet interface

induce platelets to release inflammatory mediators within seconds to minutes

in in vitro preparations (Monroe et al., 2002;McIntyre et al., 2003);

similarly secretion occurs following platelet aggregation or the binding of

activated platelets to the PSGL-1 receptor on circulating leukocytes (Rendu

& Brohard-Bohn, 2001).

http://www.dchaos.com/PDF/endocarditis%20project.pdf

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