Max Schultze (1865), G. Bizzozero (1882) and the discovery of the platelet

Abstract

SummaryMax Schultze published the first accurate and convincing description of platelets as part of a study devoted mainly to the white blood cells in 1865. He recognised them as a normal constituent of the blood and 'enthusiastically recommended' them as an object for further study by 'those concerned with the in-depth study of the blood of humans'. In 1882, Bizzozero demonstrated the value of this recommendation in his much more comprehensive study. He observed them microscopically in the circulating blood of living animals and in the blood removed from the blood vessels. In well-planned experiments, he showed that they were the first component of the blood to adhere to damaged blood vessel walls in vivo and, in vitro, that they were the first components of the blood to adhere to threads that subsequently became covered with fibrin.

Platelet-derived thrombospondin-1 is a critical negative regulator and potential biomarker of angiogenesis

“…4,5 Although platelets circulate throughout the body and participate in the control of hemostasis, increased platelet counts and activation of the coagulation cascade are often seen in cancer patients. 6,7 In addition, several studies indicate a role for platelets in promoting metastatic disease. These studies using mouse models of metastasis demonstrated that induction of thrombocytopenia, with antiplatelet antibodies or by injecting neuraminidase before tumor cell inoculation, significantly reduced the formation and overall number of lung metastases.…”

The Toll-like receptor 2/1 (TLR2/1) complex initiates human platelet activation via the src/Syk/LAT/PLCγ2 signalling cascade

“…The discovery of blood platelets and their pivotal role in thrombosis and hemostasis emerged about 150 years ago [1]. Within the last 15 years it became more and more evident that nonnucleated platelets are also implicated in the adaptive [2] as well as being components of the innate immune system [3,4], the latter which came into focus by the discovery that platelets express Toll-like receptors (TLRs) [5], of which TLR4, TLR2, and TLR9 were found to be the most abundant [6,7].…”

Viscoelasticity and Ultrastructure in Coagulation and Inflammation: Two Diverse Techniques, One Conclusion

“…He recommended these "normal constituents of blood" as an area of further in-depth study [ 4 ]. The Italian pathologist Giulio Bizzozero rose to the challenge.…”