megakaryocyte
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A megakaryocyte () is a large bone marrow cell with a lobated nucleus that produces blood platelets (thrombocytes), which are necessary for normal clotting. In humans, megakaryocytes usually account for 1 out of 10,000 bone marrow cells, but can increase in number nearly 10-fold during the course of certain diseases. Owing to variations in combining forms and spelling, synonyms include megalokaryocyte and megacaryocyte.
Key facts
- Cell.Name
- Megakaryocyte
- Cell.Latin
- megakaryocytus
- Cell.Image
- File:WVSOM_Megakaryocytes_arrows.jpg
- Cell.Caption
- Two megakaryocytes in bone marrow, marked with arrows.
- Cell.Location
- Bone marrow
- Cell.Function
- Platelet production
via Wikipedia infobox
Research
16,161 papers- Megakaryocyte development and platelet production.British journal of haematology · 2006
- The Application of Ethnomedicine in Modulating Megakaryocyte Differentiation and Platelet Counts.International journal of molecular sciences · 2023
- Transcriptional control of megakaryocyte development.Oncogene · 2007
- A megakaryocyte with no platelets: anti-platelet antibodies, apoptosis, and platelet production.Platelets · 2013
- Megakaryocyte maturation involves activation of the adaptive unfolded protein response.Genes to cells : devoted to molecular & cellular mechanisms · 2024
via PubMed
~16 min read
Encyclopedic overview
23 sectionsContents
- Structure
- Heterogeneity and Functional Subpopulations
- Development
- Stress-Induced Pathways
- Function
- Platelet release
- Effects of cytokines
- Role in Hematopoietic Stem Cell Niche
- HSC Quiescence Regulation
- Stress Response and Regeneration
- Extravascular Localization and Tissue-Specific Functions
- Clinical significance
- Essential thrombocythemia
- Congenital amegakaryocytic thrombocytopenia
- COVID-19 and viral infections
- History
- Early discovery of megakaryocytes (1869-1890s)
- Establishment of the platelet-megakaryocyte connection (1906-1920)
- The search for thrombopoietin (1958-1994)
- Modern era: Molecular cloning and clinical applications (1994-present)
- See also
- References
- External links
A megakaryocyte () is a large bone marrow cell with a lobated nucleus that produces blood platelets (thrombocytes), which are necessary for normal clotting. In humans, megakaryocytes usually account for 1 out of 10,000 bone marrow cells, but can increase in number nearly 10-fold during the course of certain diseases. Owing to variations in combining forms and spelling, synonyms include megalokaryocyte and megacaryocyte.
==Structure== In general, megakaryocytes are 10 to 15 times larger than a typical red blood cell, averaging 50–100 μm in diameter. During its maturation, the megakaryocyte grows in size and replicates its DNA without cytokinesis in a process called endomitosis. As a result, the nucleus of the megakaryocyte becomes very large and lobulated (8 in number), which, under a light microscope, can give the false impression that there are several nuclei. In some cases, the nucleus may contain up to 64N DNA, or 32 copies of the normal complement of DNA in a human cell.
Excerpted from Wikipedia’s “megakaryocyte” article, available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.