Wolfgang Miesbach/LinkedIn; John Semple/Loop Frontiers
Apr 15, 2026, 21:24
Wolfgang Miesbach: Key Message from John Semple on Platelets as Immune Cells in ITP
Wolfgang Miesbach, Professor of Medicine at Frankfurt University Hospital, shared a post on LinkedIn:
“‘Platelets are immune cells.’
That was the key message from John Semple’s outstanding talk on ITP at the recent EHA‑SWG Scientific Meeting on Bleeding and Platelet Disorders.
For beyond Haemostasis, platelets:
- Sense danger via pattern‑recognition receptors and respond to pathogens
- Release chemokines, cytokines, antimicrobial peptides and extracellular vesicles that shape innate and adaptive immunity
- Interact with neutrophils, monocytes, dendritic cells and T cells, influencing their recruitment, activation and polarization
In ITP this dual role is crucial: platelets are not only passive targets of autoantibodies and cytotoxic T cells, but active players that modulate inflammation, immune tolerance and infection risk.
What is especially exciting is how this biology is now translating into future treatment options:
- FcRn antagonists, BTK and SYK inhibitors to reduce pathogenic antibody production and signalling
- BAFF/APRIL and complement inhibitors to reshape the autoimmune milieu
- CD38‑targeting antibodies and other approaches that selectively deplete autoreactive immune cells”
Other posts featuring Wolfgang Miesbach on Hemostasis Today.
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Oct 16, 2026, 16:22Shannon Farmer: Driving Patient Blood Management Forward in Australia and New Zealand
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Oct 16, 2026, 16:01Obi Light Ogbonnia: The Greatest Reward Is Changing Lives, Not Winning Awards
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Oct 16, 2026, 15:18Carmine Liberatore: Limited Accuracy of VTE Risk Scores in Multiple Myeloma
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Oct 16, 2026, 14:55Alex Borstein and the Bleeding Phenotype of Hemophilia A Carriers
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Oct 16, 2026, 13:59Aya Akmal Amin: Antiphospholipid Syndrome Management and Risk Stratification
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Oct 16, 2026, 13:10Emanuel Sueldo: CAHT 2026 Celebrates Scientific Progress and Team Achievements
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Oct 16, 2026, 13:05Maha Othman: Queen’s Health Sciences Advances CAT Risk Models and Pediatric ISTH-BAT Cut-Offs
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Oct 16, 2026, 13:03Thrombosis Awareness Must Lead to Timely Action – Roche
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Oct 16, 2026, 12:49Wolfgang Miesbach: 5-Year CBDR Data Confirms Emicizumab Safety and Efficacy in Hemophilia A