©The Author(s) 2017. Published by Baishideng Publishing Group Inc. All rights reserved.
World J Gastroenterol. May 14, 2017; 23(18): 3228-3239
Published online May 14, 2017. doi: 10.3748/wjg.v23.i18.3228
Published online May 14, 2017. doi: 10.3748/wjg.v23.i18.3228
Platelets in liver disease, cancer and regeneration
Tomohiro Kurokawa, Nobuhiro Ohkohchi, Department of Surgery, Division of Gastroenterological and Hepatobiliary Surgery, and Organ Transplantation, Faculty of Medicine, University of Tsukuba, Tsukuba, Ibaraki 305-8575, Japan
Author contributions: Kurokawa T and Ohkohchi N made equal contribution to all aspects of the study and its presentation.
Conflict-of-interest statement: The authors declare no conflicts of interest.
Correspondence to: Nobuhiro Ohkohchi, Professor, Department of Surgery, Division of Gastroenterological and Hepatobiliary Surgery, and Organ Transplantation, Faculty of Medicine, University of Tsukuba, 1-1-1 Tennodai, Tsukuba, Ibaraki 305-8575, Japan. nokochi3@md.tsukuba.ac.jp
Telephone: +81-29-8533221 Fax: +81-29-8533221
Received: October 8, 2016
Peer-review started: October 11, 2016
First decision: October 28, 2016
Revised: November 17, 2016
Accepted: March 15, 2017
Article in press: March 15, 2017
Published online: May 14, 2017
Processing time: 218 Days and 14.1 Hours
Peer-review started: October 11, 2016
First decision: October 28, 2016
Revised: November 17, 2016
Accepted: March 15, 2017
Article in press: March 15, 2017
Published online: May 14, 2017
Processing time: 218 Days and 14.1 Hours
Core Tip
Core tip: Platelets improve liver fibrosis and accelerate liver regeneration; therefore, patients with liver dysfunction due to chronic liver disease (CLD) and cirrhosis can benefit from platelet transfusion. However, administration of the thrombopoietin receptor agonist eltrombopag for 6 mo did not result in the improvement of liver function in patients with CLD despite its long-term safety and ability to maintain an increased platelet count. We believe that this difference is due to platelet aging. Therefore, we are pursuing novel strategies with thrombopoietin receptor agonists and desialylated formulations to treat liver diseases.