Pecci Alessandro, Malara Alessandro, Badalucco Stefania, Bozzi Valeria, Torti Mauro, Balduini Carlo L, Balduini Alessandra
Department of Internal Medicine, IRCCS Policlinico San Matteo Foundation, University of Pavia, Pavia, Italy.
Thromb Haemost. 2009 Jul;102(1):90-6. doi: 10.1160/TH09-01-0068.
MYH9-related disease (MYH9-RD) is an autosomal-dominant thrombocytopenia caused by mutations of MYH9, the gene for the heavy chain of myosin-IIA. Pathogenesis of thrombocytopenia of MYH9-RD is unknown. Recent studies in mice demonstrated that myosin-IIA is an inhibitor of proplatelet formation (PPF), and suggested that it could be involved in the suppression of PPF exerted by megakaryocyte adhesion to type I collagen, which regulates the timing of platelet release within bone marrow. However, the consequences on PPF of the heterozygous mutations causative of the MYH9-RD have never been investigated. We studied the in-vitro PPF by megakaryocytes obtained from four patients carrying the p.D1424N or the p.R1933X mutations. We demonstrated that MYH9-RD megakaryocytes completely lose the physiologic suppression of proplatelet extension exerted by interaction with type I collagen, thus supporting the hypothesis that a premature platelet release within bone marrow contributes to pathogenesis of MYH9-related thrombocytopenia. Moreover, proplatelets extended by MYH9-RD megakaryocytes presented a significant defect in branching in secondary processes (p=0.001) and formed a significantly lower number of proplatelet tips (p=0.005). Since platelets are assembled at the level of proplatelet tips, this defect could further contribute to pathogenesis of thrombocytopenia of MYH9-RD patients.
MYH9相关疾病(MYH9-RD)是一种常染色体显性遗传性血小板减少症,由肌球蛋白-IIA重链基因MYH9的突变引起。MYH9-RD血小板减少症的发病机制尚不清楚。最近在小鼠身上的研究表明,肌球蛋白-IIA是前血小板形成(PPF)的抑制剂,并提示它可能参与了巨核细胞与I型胶原黏附所施加的对PPF的抑制作用,而这种黏附调节了骨髓内血小板释放的时间。然而,导致MYH9-RD的杂合突变对PPF的影响从未被研究过。我们研究了从四名携带p.D1424N或p.R1933X突变的患者中获得的巨核细胞的体外PPF。我们证明,MYH9-RD巨核细胞完全丧失了与I型胶原相互作用所施加的对前血小板延伸的生理抑制作用,从而支持了这样一种假说,即骨髓内血小板过早释放促成了MYH9相关血小板减少症的发病机制。此外,由MYH9-RD巨核细胞延伸出的前血小板在二级过程的分支方面存在显著缺陷(p=0.001),并且形成前血小板尖端的数量显著减少(p=0.005)。由于血小板是在前血小板尖端水平组装的,这种缺陷可能进一步促成MYH9-RD患者血小板减少症的发病机制。