This Article Full Text (PDF) References Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Citation Map Services Email this article to a friend Similar articles in this journal Alert me to new issues of the journal Add to Saved Citations Download to citation manager Request Permissions Request Reprints Add to My Marked Citations Citing Articles Citing Articles via Google Scholar Citing Articles via Scopus Google Scholar Articles by Krailadsiri, P. Articles by Bode, A. P. Search for Related Content PubMed Articles by Krailadsiri, P. Articles by Bode, A. P. Social Bookmarking                         What's this?

State-of-the-Art-Review: Microvesicles in Blood Components: Laboratory and Clinical Aspects

National Blood Service-North London Centre, London, United Kingdom

Jerard Seghatchian, Ph.D.

National Blood Service-North London Centre, London, United Kingdom

Arthur P. Bode, P.h.D.

Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine East Carolina University School of Medicine, Greenville, North Carolina, U.S.A.

There is ample evidence for the presence of microvesicles (MV) of different sizes and functions in various blood components. A variety of mechanisms have been proposed for the formation of MV. These include mechanical injury, shear stress, cell activation, activation of complements, hypoxia, and the cell aging process. While MV share many biological properties and surface receptors of their parental cells, they demonstrate significant differences in membrane asymmetry of the inner membrane phospholipid, in particular phosphatidylserine (PS). This provides high-affinity binding sites for the components of the prothrombinase complex. To what extent these MV contribute to hemostatic effectiveness, immudomodulation, and some untoward effects of the transfused blood components remains to be fully elucidated. Several methods for qualitative and semiquantitative characterization of MV are now available. Although in most cases it is necessary to separate MV from the intact cells for improved characterization, recent advances in flow cytometry make it possible to accurately differentiate MV in the presence of their parental cells on the basis of light scattering and fluorescent intensity. This review focuses on four main areas of MV in blood components: (1) the proposed mechanisms of platelet vesiculation, (2) factors influencing the formation of MV, (3) laboratory analysis of MV, and (4) the clinical impact of the presence of MV in blood components. Key Words: Microvesicte—Vesicutation—Biood component—Ptatelets—Transfusion.

Clinical and Applied Thrombosis/Hemostasis, Vol. 3, No. 2, 86-95 (1997)
DOI: 10.1177/107602969700300203


CiteULike    Complore    Connotea    Del.icio.us    Digg    Reddit    Technorati    Twitter    What's this?