@article{571, abstract = {Blood platelets are critical for hemostasis and thrombosis and play diverse roles during immune responses. Despite these versatile tasks in mammalian biology, their skills on a cellular level are deemed limited, mainly consisting in rolling, adhesion, and aggregate formation. Here, we identify an unappreciated asset of platelets and show that adherent platelets use adhesion receptors to mechanically probe the adhesive substrate in their local microenvironment. When actomyosin-dependent traction forces overcome substrate resistance, platelets migrate and pile up the adhesive substrate together with any bound particulate material. They use this ability to act as cellular scavengers, scanning the vascular surface for potential invaders and collecting deposited bacteria. Microbe collection by migrating platelets boosts the activity of professional phagocytes, exacerbating inflammatory tissue injury in sepsis. This assigns platelets a central role in innate immune responses and identifies them as potential targets to dampen inflammatory tissue damage in clinical scenarios of severe systemic infection. In addition to their role in thrombosis and hemostasis, platelets can also migrate to sites of infection to help trap bacteria and clear the vascular surface.}, author = {Gärtner, Florian R and Ahmad, Zerkah and Rosenberger, Gerhild and Fan, Shuxia and Nicolai, Leo and Busch, Benjamin and Yavuz, Gökce and Luckner, Manja and Ishikawa Ankerhold, Hellen and Hennel, Roman and Benechet, Alexandre and Lorenz, Michael and Chandraratne, Sue and Schubert, Irene and Helmer, Sebastian and Striednig, Bianca and Stark, Konstantin and Janko, Marek and Böttcher, Ralph and Verschoor, Admar and Leon, Catherine and Gachet, Christian and Gudermann, Thomas and Mederos Y Schnitzler, Michael and Pincus, Zachary and Iannacone, Matteo and Haas, Rainer and Wanner, Gerhard and Lauber, Kirsten and Sixt, Michael K and Massberg, Steffen}, issn = {00928674}, journal = {Cell Press}, number = {6}, pages = {1368 -- 1382}, publisher = {Cell Press}, title = {{Migrating platelets are mechano scavengers that collect and bundle bacteria}}, doi = {10.1016/j.cell.2017.11.001}, volume = {171}, year = {2017}, }