Megakaryocytes Possess a Functional Intrinsic Apoptosis Pathway That Must Be Restrained In Order to Survive and Produce Platelets

Abstract

Abstract Abstract 550 It is widely held that megakaryocytes undergo a specialized form of apoptosis in order to shed platelets. Conversely, it is also believed that a range of insults including chemotherapeutic agents, autoantibodies and viruses, cause thrombocytopenia by inducing the apoptotic death of megakaryocytes and their progenitors. However, the apoptotic pathways that megakaryocytes possess, and the role they play in survival and platelet production are ill-defined. We recently demonstrated that platelets contain a classical intrinsic mitochondrial apoptosis pathway that regulates their life span in vivo. The key components of this pathway are the Bcl-2..