Biogenesis and bioengineering of human platelets

Platelets are small cells in the blood that are essential to stop us bleeding. There are many reasons for low platelet levels, such as trauma, major surgery or chemotherapy. In these cases it will be vital to receive additional platelets by transfusion. The supply of compatible platelets for transfusion is precarious, and there is substantial effort to make these cells outside the body. Unfortunately, at present, we are able only to make very small quantities in vitro. 

We have developed a new way to make these cells in vitro, from their parent cell the megakaryocyte. We aim to understand the process of platelet generation, using two vascular model systems and megakaryocytes that we have manufactured from stem cells. We will optimise our systems to enable scaling up for clinical use. 

This is potentially transformative for fundamental understanding and for bioengineering cells for clinical use.