Summary
This review collects evidence about immune and inflammatory functions of platelets
from a clinician’s point of view. A focus on clinically relevant immune functions
aims at stimulating further research, because the complexity of platelet immunity
is incompletely understood and not yet translated into patient care. Platelets promote
chronic inflammatory reactions (e.g. in atherosclerosis), modulate acute inflammatory
disorders such as sepsis and other infections (participating in the host defense against
pathogens), and contribute to exacerbations of autoimmune conditions (like asthma
or arthritis). It would hence be obsolete to restrict a description of platelet functions
to thrombosis and haemostasis – platelets clearly are the most abundant cells with
immune functions in the circulation.
Keywords
Platelet immunology - sepsis - leukocyte function/activation