---
_id: '571'
abstract:
- lang: eng
  text: 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.
article_processing_charge: No
author:
- first_name: Florian R
  full_name: Gärtner, Florian R
  id: 397A88EE-F248-11E8-B48F-1D18A9856A87
  last_name: Gärtner
  orcid: 0000-0001-6120-3723
- first_name: Zerkah
  full_name: Ahmad, Zerkah
  last_name: Ahmad
- first_name: Gerhild
  full_name: Rosenberger, Gerhild
  last_name: Rosenberger
- first_name: Shuxia
  full_name: Fan, Shuxia
  last_name: Fan
- first_name: Leo
  full_name: Nicolai, Leo
  last_name: Nicolai
- first_name: Benjamin
  full_name: Busch, Benjamin
  last_name: Busch
- first_name: Gökce
  full_name: Yavuz, Gökce
  last_name: Yavuz
- first_name: Manja
  full_name: Luckner, Manja
  last_name: Luckner
- first_name: Hellen
  full_name: Ishikawa Ankerhold, Hellen
  last_name: Ishikawa Ankerhold
- first_name: Roman
  full_name: Hennel, Roman
  last_name: Hennel
- first_name: Alexandre
  full_name: Benechet, Alexandre
  last_name: Benechet
- first_name: Michael
  full_name: Lorenz, Michael
  last_name: Lorenz
- first_name: Sue
  full_name: Chandraratne, Sue
  last_name: Chandraratne
- first_name: Irene
  full_name: Schubert, Irene
  last_name: Schubert
- first_name: Sebastian
  full_name: Helmer, Sebastian
  last_name: Helmer
- first_name: Bianca
  full_name: Striednig, Bianca
  last_name: Striednig
- first_name: Konstantin
  full_name: Stark, Konstantin
  last_name: Stark
- first_name: Marek
  full_name: Janko, Marek
  last_name: Janko
- first_name: Ralph
  full_name: Böttcher, Ralph
  last_name: Böttcher
- first_name: Admar
  full_name: Verschoor, Admar
  last_name: Verschoor
- first_name: Catherine
  full_name: Leon, Catherine
  last_name: Leon
- first_name: Christian
  full_name: Gachet, Christian
  last_name: Gachet
- first_name: Thomas
  full_name: Gudermann, Thomas
  last_name: Gudermann
- first_name: Michael
  full_name: Mederos Y Schnitzler, Michael
  last_name: Mederos Y Schnitzler
- first_name: Zachary
  full_name: Pincus, Zachary
  last_name: Pincus
- first_name: Matteo
  full_name: Iannacone, Matteo
  last_name: Iannacone
- first_name: Rainer
  full_name: Haas, Rainer
  last_name: Haas
- first_name: Gerhard
  full_name: Wanner, Gerhard
  last_name: Wanner
- first_name: Kirsten
  full_name: Lauber, Kirsten
  last_name: Lauber
- first_name: Michael K
  full_name: Sixt, Michael K
  id: 41E9FBEA-F248-11E8-B48F-1D18A9856A87
  last_name: Sixt
  orcid: 0000-0002-6620-9179
- first_name: Steffen
  full_name: Massberg, Steffen
  last_name: Massberg
citation:
  ama: Gärtner FR, Ahmad Z, Rosenberger G, et al. Migrating platelets are mechano
    scavengers that collect and bundle bacteria. <i>Cell Press</i>. 2017;171(6):1368-1382.
    doi:<a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cell.2017.11.001">10.1016/j.cell.2017.11.001</a>
  apa: Gärtner, F. R., Ahmad, Z., Rosenberger, G., Fan, S., Nicolai, L., Busch, B.,
    … Massberg, S. (2017). Migrating platelets are mechano scavengers that collect
    and bundle bacteria. <i>Cell Press</i>. Cell Press. <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cell.2017.11.001">https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cell.2017.11.001</a>
  chicago: Gärtner, Florian R, Zerkah Ahmad, Gerhild Rosenberger, Shuxia Fan, Leo
    Nicolai, Benjamin Busch, Gökce Yavuz, et al. “Migrating Platelets Are Mechano
    Scavengers That Collect and Bundle Bacteria.” <i>Cell Press</i>. Cell Press, 2017.
    <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cell.2017.11.001">https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cell.2017.11.001</a>.
  ieee: F. R. Gärtner <i>et al.</i>, “Migrating platelets are mechano scavengers that
    collect and bundle bacteria,” <i>Cell Press</i>, vol. 171, no. 6. Cell Press,
    pp. 1368–1382, 2017.
  ista: Gärtner FR, Ahmad Z, Rosenberger G, Fan S, Nicolai L, Busch B, Yavuz G, Luckner
    M, Ishikawa Ankerhold H, Hennel R, Benechet A, Lorenz M, Chandraratne S, Schubert
    I, Helmer S, Striednig B, Stark K, Janko M, Böttcher R, Verschoor A, Leon C, Gachet
    C, Gudermann T, Mederos Y Schnitzler M, Pincus Z, Iannacone M, Haas R, Wanner
    G, Lauber K, Sixt MK, Massberg S. 2017. Migrating platelets are mechano scavengers
    that collect and bundle bacteria. Cell Press. 171(6), 1368–1382.
  mla: Gärtner, Florian R., et al. “Migrating Platelets Are Mechano Scavengers That
    Collect and Bundle Bacteria.” <i>Cell Press</i>, vol. 171, no. 6, Cell Press,
    2017, pp. 1368–82, doi:<a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cell.2017.11.001">10.1016/j.cell.2017.11.001</a>.
  short: F.R. Gärtner, Z. Ahmad, G. Rosenberger, S. Fan, L. Nicolai, B. Busch, G.
    Yavuz, M. Luckner, H. Ishikawa Ankerhold, R. Hennel, A. Benechet, M. Lorenz, S.
    Chandraratne, I. Schubert, S. Helmer, B. Striednig, K. Stark, M. Janko, R. Böttcher,
    A. Verschoor, C. Leon, C. Gachet, T. Gudermann, M. Mederos Y Schnitzler, Z. Pincus,
    M. Iannacone, R. Haas, G. Wanner, K. Lauber, M.K. Sixt, S. Massberg, Cell Press
    171 (2017) 1368–1382.
date_created: 2018-12-11T11:47:15Z
date_published: 2017-11-30T00:00:00Z
date_updated: 2025-09-11T07:39:45Z
day: '30'
department:
- _id: MiSi
doi: 10.1016/j.cell.2017.11.001
ec_funded: 1
external_id:
  isi:
  - '000417362700018'
intvolume: '       171'
isi: 1
issue: '6'
language:
- iso: eng
month: '11'
oa_version: None
page: 1368 - 1382
project:
- _id: 260AA4E2-B435-11E9-9278-68D0E5697425
  call_identifier: H2020
  grant_number: '747687'
  name: Mechanical Adaptation of Lamellipodial Actin Networks in Migrating Cells
publication: Cell Press
publication_identifier:
  issn:
  - 0092-8674
publication_status: published
publisher: Cell Press
publist_id: '7243'
quality_controlled: '1'
scopus_import: '1'
status: public
title: Migrating platelets are mechano scavengers that collect and bundle bacteria
type: journal_article
user_id: 317138e5-6ab7-11ef-aa6d-ffef3953e345
volume: 171
year: '2017'
...