The mechanism for the development of blood platelets discovered
Thrombocytes or Blood platelets are small, colorless cell fragments in our blood that form clots and stop or prevent bleeding, they are critical cells with a size of between 0.0015 and also 0.003 millimeters. Their function is to reseal injuries of the blood vessels as quickly as possible, for which they regularly patrol the bloodstream, ready to react instantly to any type of injuries. To make sure that the immense number of platelets required for this is available every time, the biological abilities of the organism alone are not adequate, and for this, it takes the support of a particularly efficient physical mechanism. Recently, a Bayreuth study group led by Prof. Dr. Stephan Gekle, along with companions at University Hospital Würzburg found this mechanism and explained it scientifically.
Special cells that are localized in the bone marrow forms platelets in the blood vessels. From there, thin finger-like structures of platelets extend into the bloodstream, where it disintegrates right into individual droplets due to surface tension just like a thin stream of water. One platelet is formed from each of these droplets. Gekle, who holds a Lichtenberg professorship for the simulation and
modeling of biofluids at the University of Bayreuth said that it is feasible to comply with these procedures thoroughly as well as to visualize them with computer simulations. This fundamental research promises to be of great practical value to medicine. This study is of great value specifically when it comes to optimizing bioreactors presently used in artificial thrombocyte production.Christian Bächer, the first author of the study and a doctoral researcher and graduate of the Bayreuth study program “Biological Physics” has been fascinated ever since his bachelor studies by how physical and biological research is brought together by modern IT technology. Christian Bächer said that it is always interesting how processes in living beings, that seem so exceptionally complex in the first look, can frequently be comprehended on the basis of basic physical concepts.
The outcomes of the research are published in the journal PNAS.
The mechanism for the development of blood platelets discovered
Author: Sruthi S
