Historical review: megakaryopoiesis and thrombopoiesis

The study of thrombopoiesis has evolved greatly since an era when platelets were termed “the dust of the blood, ” only about 100 years ago. During this time megakaryocytes were identified as the origin of blood platelets; marrow-derived megakaryocytic progenitor cells were functionally defined and then purified; and the primary regulator of the process, thrombopoietin, was cloned and charac-terized and therapeutic thrombopoietic agents developed. During this journey we continue to learn that the physiologic mechanisms that drive proplatelet forma-tion can be recapitulated in cell-free sys-tems and their biochemistry evaluated; the molecular underpinnings of endomito-sis are being increasingly understood; the intracellular signals sent by engage-ment of a large number of megakaryocyte surface receptors have been defined; and many of the transcription factors that drive megakaryocytic fate determination have been identified and experimentally manipulated. While some of these bio-logic processes mimic those seen in other cell types, megakaryocytes and platelets possess enough unique developmental features that we are virtually assured that continued study of thrombopoiesis will yield innumerable clinical and scientific insights for many decades to come