How does the age of a platelet change its function in heart and circulatory disease?

The association between platelet age and platelet function; relevance to thrombotic risk

Platelets are small cells that circulate in the blood. They stop bleeding from damaged blood vessels by rapidly sticking together and forming a blood clot, but if a clot forms at the wrong time it can be dangerous. Atherosclerosis is a disease in which there is a build-up of fatty deposits inside the walls of blood vessels. People with atherosclerosis have a greater risk of platelets forming a clot in a vessel and travelling to the heart or brain, causing a heart attack or stroke. Platelets are made in our bone marrow. They circulate for about ten days before becoming too old to function properly and are removed by the spleen and liver. The ways in which platelets age during these ten days are believed to be a factor in heart attacks and a number of other conditions related to heart and circulatory diseases, including diabetes and chronic kidney disease. Professor Timothy Warner, an expert in platelet biology at Queen Mary University of London, will investigate the links between platelet age and function, and heart and circulatory diseases. By studying platelets from humans and mice, Professor Warner and his team aim to characterise platelets of different ages, study how young platelets vary and age differently in health and disease, and see how drugs can influence their lifespan. This research could lead to new platelet-targeting treatments that lower the risk of heart attack and stroke caused by harmful blood clot formation.