Thrombocytopathies: Not Just Aggregation Defects—The Clinical Relevance of Procoagulant Platelets

Abstract

Platelets are active key players in haemostasis. Qualitative platelet dysfunctions result in thrombocytopathies variously characterized by defects of their adhesive and procoagulant activation endpoints. In this review, we summarize the traditional platelet defects in adhesion, secretion, and aggregation. In addition, we review the current knowledge about procoagulant platelets, focusing on their role in bleeding or thrombotic pathologies and their pharmaceutical modulation. Procoagulant activity is an important feature of platelet activation, which should be specifically evaluated during the investigation of a suspected thrombocytopathy.

Gastrointestinal Bleeding in Congenital Bleeding Disorders

“…Unlike the pattern in VWD, this defect is not corrected by the addition of normal plasma. 153 Plasma VWF and FVIII levels and activity are normal. 154 Clinical manifestations include tendency to excessive bleeding from injuries, purpura, epistaxis, gingival bleeding, menorrhagia, and, more rarely, GIB and hematuria.…”

Platelets’ Role in Dentistry: From Oral Pathology to Regenerative Potential

“…Depending on the function that is compromised, we can distinguish [ 13 ]: − Platelet diseases with an adhesion defect; − Thrombocytopathies with an aggregation defect; − Thrombocytopathies with a defect in the release reaction. …”

Special Issue: “The Latest Clinical Advances in Thrombocytopenia”

“…All these latter assays require expertise and are reserved for specialized laboratories. The same applies to microfluidic flow chamber assays of thrombus formation used for research purposes (see also the review by Aliotta et al [9] introduced above).…”

“…We observe that a number of these papers are already viewed at a high rate and even cited, supporting the value of this article series. For this issue, we acquired one original research article [1] and 13 reviews [2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14] that are shortly introduced below.…”

“…Aliotta, Bertaggia Calderara, Zermatten, Marchetti, and Alberio offer an in-depth review on thrombocytopathies [9]. They first outline the platelet activation endpoints, namely adhesion, secretion, and aggregation, discuss their classic defects such as Bernard-Soulier syndrome, platelet-type von Willebrand disease, alpha-and delta-storage pool deficiencies, and Glanzmann thrombasthenia respectively, and then highlight the major role of platelet procoagulant activity.…”