Platelet-Mediated Immune Regulation in Cancer
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: 31 May 2026 | Viewed by 12
Special Issue Editor
2. Department of Comparative Pathobiology, School of Veterinary Medicine, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN 47907, USA
Interests: how platelets stimulate adaptive immunity; T cell immunology; cancer immunotherapy
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
Platelets are recognized for their dual roles in cancer biology. Pharmacological inhibition or antibody-mediated depletion of platelets has illuminated their contribution to tumor progression and metastasis. Conversely, platelets can also elicit antitumor immune responses under specific conditions. This functional dichotomy likely reflects the diverse and context-dependent biological activities of platelet granule and microvesicle contents released upon partial or full activation. These releasates deliver a broad spectrum of bioactive molecules to local and systemic environments, modulating immune cell behavior in either immunostimulatory or immunosuppressive directions. Similarly, megakaryocytes exhibit both pro- and anti-tumoral properties, influencing platelet composition and function, as platelets inherit aspects of their parental megakaryocyte phenotype. The close interaction between platelets and tumor cells—both within tissues and in circulation—positions platelets as a promising target for therapeutic innovation in cancer treatment.
This Special Issue entitled “Platelet-Mediated Immune Regulation in Cancer” is inviting submissions that investigate how to enhance platelet anti-tumor immune capacities to impede the spread of cancer and those that explore the mechanisms of how platelets support the initial immune escape and establishment of a cancer lesion, how they protect the established tumor microenvironment from the immune system, how they interfere with the immune response to allow or propagate the metastatic spread of cancer, and if the protection of an early metastatic lesion differs from that of the primary. Of significant interest is also how each of these steps can be critically targeted via platelet or megakaryocyte engineering to reverse the immunosuppressive effects of platelets, which could include delivery of engineered nanoparticles, RNA species, chemotherapeutics, immunotherapies, immune-modulating stimulatory surface receptors, specific chemokine or cytokine delivery, and general disruption of immunosuppressive platelet communication with tumor cells and the tumor microenvironment.
Dr. Bennett D. Elzey
Guest Editor
Manuscript Submission Information
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Keywords
- platelets
- tumor immunity
- megakaryocyte
- immunotherapy
- lymphocytes
- microvesicles
- immune suppression
- metastasis
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