Platelet Activation in Human Health and Disease
A special issue of International Journal of Molecular Sciences (ISSN 1422-0067). This special issue belongs to the section "Molecular Immunology".
Deadline for manuscript submissions: 25 July 2024 | Viewed by 6145
Special Issue Editor
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
Platelets are pieces of very large cells in the bone marrow called megakaryocytes. They help form blood clots to slow or stop bleeding and to help wounds heal. αIIbβ3, the major platelet integrin, plays a central role in haemostasis and thrombosis. Upon platelet activation, the conformation of αIIbβ3 changes allows fibrinogen binding and, subsequently, platelet aggregation.
YMESRADR, a peptide corresponding to the extracellular sequence 313-320 of αIIb, is also a potent platelet aggregation inhibitor which mimics the effect of a clasp between the head domains of αIIb and β3. Platelet preincubation with Pal-K-LEEDDEGE followed by YMESRADR showed synergistic inhibitory activity on platelet aggregation. Platelet incubation with threshold inhibitory concentrations of both peptides provoked almost total inhibition of aggregation. However, in contrast with the RGD peptide that enhances ERK phosphorylation and activation, the mixture of Pal-K-LEEDDEEGE and YMESRADR also inhibits ERK phosphorylation. It was suggested that the use of the intracellular inhibitor in combination with the extracellular peptide inhibitor, acting with a non-RGD-like mechanism, may provide an alternative pharmacological approach to antagonizing integrin αIIbβ3 activation.
In this Special Issue of IJMS, we will focus on molecular mechanisms underlying platelet response, biogenesis, activation, aggregation and function in human health and diseases. Research papers and reviews on the above-mentioned topics are particularly welcome.
Dr. Demokritos Tsoukatos
Guest Editor
Manuscript Submission Information
Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.
Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. International Journal of Molecular Sciences is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.
Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. There is an Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal. For details about the APC please see here. Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.
Keywords
- integrin αΙΙbβ3
- αIIb subunit
- platelet aggregation
- platelet activation
- talin
- peptide inhibitors