Induction of differentiation of human stem cells ex vivo: Toward large-scale platelet production

Abstract

Platelet transfusion is one of the most reliable strategies to cure patients suffering from thrombocytopenia or platelet dysfunction. With the increasing demand for transfusion, however, there is an undersupply of donors to provide the platelet source. Thus, scientists have sought to design methods for deriving clinical-scale platelets ex vivo. Although there has been considerable success ex vivo in the generation of transformative platelets produced by human stem cells (SCs), the platelet yields achieved using these strategies have not been adequate for clinical application. In this review, we provide an overview of the developmental process of megakaryocytes and the production of platelets in vivo and ex vivo, recapitulate the key advances in the production of SC-derived platelets using several SC sources, and discuss some strategies that apply three-dimensional bioreactor devices and biochemical factors synergistically to improve the generation of large-scale platelets for use in future biomedical and clinical settings.

Keywords: Megakaryopoiesis; Platelet production; Transfusion; Bioreactors; Stem cells

Core tip: Platelets derived from voluntary blood donation pose some challenges, such as susceptibility to pathogen contamination, short preservation time and difficulty in satisfying the increasing number of patients requiring platelet transfusion. Thus, seeking a safe and reliable alternative source of platelets is an effective solution.