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Previous Volume 359:1261-1270 September 18, 2008 Number 12 Next

	Since this article has no abstract, we have provided an extract of the first 100 words of the full text and any section headings.

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Platelets help to maintain blood circulation by controlling hemorrhage after an injury to the blood-vessel wall that causes physical or biochemical disruption of the endothelium. The development of an activated platelet plug at the site of trauma seals the vascular lesion and brings about hemostasis. The membrane-oriented processes of subendothelial adhesion of platelets, granule release, cohesion, aggregation, and plug stabilization involve several well-characterized ligand–receptor interactions¹ and will not be discussed further in this review.

Instead, we will focus on other functional contacts between platelets and endothelial cells. The most important of these is the maintenance of vascular integrity by the . . . [Full Text of this Article]

The Endothelial Cell–Megakaryocyte–Platelet Axis

Platelets and the VEGF System

Biologic Characteristics of Junctions

Endothelial-Cell Stability

Clinical Implications

Conclusions

Source Information

From Weill Cornell Medical College, New York.

Address reprint requests to Dr. Nachman at Weill Cornell Medical College, 1300 York Ave., New York, NY 10065, or at rlnachm@med.cornell.edu.

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