blood journal recently published research by Dr. Velia Fowler, CBI Trainer, and her collaborators titled “Megakaryocyte migration defects due to nonmuscle myosin IIA mutations underlie thrombocytopenia in MYH9-related disease”. Their research reveals a number of wrong moves by blood cells on their creeping, crawling journey toward platelet formation. While platelets normally are tiny, less than one-tenth the size of red blood cells, and the average person generates some 40 billion of these clotting cells a day, people with MYH9-related disorders have scant numbers of them. What’s more, their platelets are jumbo-sized and can even be as big as red blood cells. “In people with MYH9-related disorders, the platelets are few and they are just way too big,” said Fowler, professor and chair of UD’s Department of Biological Sciences. “They look like bluish giants in our stains under the microscope.”

CLICK HERE to read the UDaily article by Tracey Bryant

CLICK HERE to read the journal article

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