Scientists have found that the lungs of mammals, in addition to the usual gas exchange, have one of the main roles in hematopoiesis.
During the experiment, it was confirmed that the lungs have the ability to produce more than 10 million platelets per hour, which is the largest part of platelet formation in the body of animals. Thus, this contradicts the general idea that blood formation occurs only in the bone marrow.
Researchers at the University of California (San Francisco) have discovered new, previously unknown progenitor cells in the lung tissue.
This proves that the human lungs have a similar function. But why have scientists not noticed anything like this before?
This study became possible after the emergence of a new technology. Something similar was used by another group of scientists in the study of unknown functions of the cerebellum.
One of the main components of the process is the introduction of a green fluorescent protein into a mouse gnome (a similar substance is produced by some animals, for example, jellyfish, and is safe for living cells). The rodent platelets began to emit bright green light in real time, thanks to which scientists were able to track their movement.
During the experiment, a very large population of platelet-producing megakaryocytes was observed inside the lung tissue. When the entire life cycle of megakaryocytes was monitored, scientists established that megakaryocytes originate from the bone marrow and only then move to the lungs.
This migration of megakaryocytes caused great surprise among researchers. This suggested that the lungs might be an ideal bioreactor for platelet production.
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