The discovery could boost platelet production to combat blood shortages

A new finding from the University of Virginia School of Medicine could allow doctors to increase coagulation platelet production as needed, in time to be discovered after the Red Cross declared a national blood "crisis" earlier this year
.

In addition to providing more life-saving platelets for blood transfusions, the new findings of UVA could also help doctors better treat thrombocytopenia, a potentially dangerous coagulation disorder that almost one-third of newborns in intensive care have suffer
.

"Due to the growing shortage of donor-derived platelets, both the public and private sectors are pushing hard for cell culture-based platelet production methods," said
Adam N.

Learn about platelet production

The new discovery provides important insights into the study of megakaryocytes, the platelet-producing cells, and how they change from birth to adulthood
.

Goldfarb and his team found that by blocking a particular enzyme, Dyrk1a, they could switch between baby mode and adult mode in megakaryocytes — between manufacturing plants and making platelets
.

In addition, the findings may help cancer patients who receive cord blood transplants overcome platelet problems, which slow the recovery of the immune system and increase the risk of
dangerous infections.

The discovery could also lead to new therapies for thrombocytopenia, a disease
in which there are too few platelets in the body.

The good news is that there are already drugs that can inhibit Dyrk1a, which can turn on the biological switch
of megakaryocytes.

Goldfarb, deputy director of the Clinical Hematology Laboratory at the University of Virginia School of Medicine, noted that the new discovery could have far-reaching benefits
.

The study was supported by the National Institutes of Health and funded by R01 HL130550 and R01 HL149667
.

Journal Reference:

1. Kamaleldin E.