Megakaryocyte rupture for acute platelet needs

Abstract

Circulating platelets were thought to arise solely from the protrusion and fragmentation of megakaryocyte cytoplasm. Now, Nishimura et al. (2015. J. Cell Biol. http://dx.doi .org/10.1083/jcb.201410052) show that platelet release from megakaryocytes can be induced by interleukin-1α (IL-1α) via a new rupture mechanism, which yields higher platelet numbers, occurs independently of the key regulator of megakaryopoiesis thrombopoietin, and may occur during situations of acute platelet need.