We unexpectedly found that platelet specific PTEN deletion mice exhibited spontaneous severe lymphadenopathy and splenomegaly. Further study showed that the unrestricted expansion of follicular T help cells and germinal center B cells is the cause of sustained germinal center response, follicular cell hyperplasia and autoimmune disease. RNA-Seq and cytokines array experiments demonstrated that the constant release of Il6, Il9, Il17, Il21 and IFN from PTEN deficient platelets is probably responsible for the excessive activation of follicular T help cells, thereby causing the overproliferation of germinal center B cells. We further found that PTEN deficiency caused a large amount of platelet accumulation in lymph nodes and that PTEN deficiency might promote a-granules release by enhancing phosphorylation of Akt and Snap23 in platelets. SOURCE: chen xue (chenxuesnow@shu.edu.cn) -  shanghai university

Pluto Bioinformatics

GSE143698: Hyperactive platelets promote aberrant Tfh cell response and disrupt immune homeostasis