Megakaryocyte Heterogeneity in Sickle Cell Disease

Sickle cell disease (SCD) is characterized by chronic hemolytic anemia, painful crisis called vaso-occlusive crisis (VOC) and chronic inflammation. Activated platelets of SCD patients participated to both chronic inflammation and painful VOC. Platelets are anucleated cells from the fragmentation of megakaryocytes in bone marrow. The main aim of this study is to characterize the distribution of the different megakaryocyte subpopulations of sickle cell disease patients SS and SC and in particular the "immune" megakaryocytes CD148+CD48+ and to compare it with the platelet phenotype.