The Role of Platelets in Development and Disease: Thrombosis across the Lifespan
A special issue of International Journal of Molecular Sciences (ISSN 1422-0067). This special issue belongs to the section "Molecular Biology".
Deadline for manuscript submissions: 10 May 2024 | Viewed by 514
Special Issue Editor
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
Thrombosis remains a persistent complication of cardiovascular diseases and implanted devices, with platelets playing a central role. Unfortunately, common antithrombotic therapies, which target platelet receptors or agonist pathways, are only mildly effective or ineffective under pathologic flow conditions characteristic of cardiovascular diseases and devices and may cause bleeding. The effectiveness of these drugs is further complicated when extrapolated for use in the elderly or very young. Thus, there is a need to develop antithrombotic drugs that consider the patient and cardiovascular condition in which they are deployed.
There has been growing interest in how platelet mechanobiology—particularly platelet receptors, membrane constituents, cytoskeletal and microtubular elements, and intraplatelet signaling pathways—responds to mechanical cues from the extraplatelet environment to trigger the prothrombotic response. Coupled with this research is the development of a variety of models—continuum-, particle-, and systems-biology-based—integrating the multiscale nature of the thrombotic response, from the organ and blood vessel level down to the subplatelet molecular constituents, to predict how platelets activate, aggregate, and adhere in response to their surrounding environment. Recent models have incorporated the use of artificial intelligence and machine learning to elucidate mechanisms that provide insight into the platelet’s role in thrombosis.
Concurrently, there is interest in how platelet activation pathways evolve across the age spectrum—from newborns to the elderly. Thrombosis is more prominent in elderly individuals and typically accompanies cardiovascular disease, diabetes, inflammation, or cancer, among other co-morbidities. However, thrombotic events are uncommon in newborns and pediatric patients. Yet, very little is known about the mechanisms behind these stark differences.
This Special Issue focuses on new research that studies and models platelet molecular mechanisms that translate mechanical cues to trigger thrombosis, highlights advances in platelet development, and elucidates the evolution of platelet mechanisms with age, with a goal of encouraging the development of novel antithrombotics for an aging population. We especially welcome submissions that address the following topics:
- Platelet interaction with the flow environment;
- Platelet mechanotransduction pathways;
- Differences in platelet structure and function related to age;
- The role of platelets in diseases associated with aging;
- New treatment strategies for platelet-mediated thrombosis;
- Novel computational approaches or models that describe the platelet’s role in thrombosis.
Dr. Jawaad Sheriff
Guest Editor
Manuscript Submission Information
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Keywords
- mechanobiology
- biomechanics
- signaling pathways
- computational modeling
- thrombosis
- antithrombotic therapy
- aging
- systems biology
- cardiovascular disease
- diabetes
- inflammation
- cancer
- platelet activation
- platelet adhesion
- platelet aggregation
