AARON PETREY

Proteoglycans, platelets and megakaryocytes

April 28, 2020

My research is focused on platelets as crucial effectors capable of modulating inflammatory and immune responses. These innate immune sensors continually survey their environment and discriminate between homeostatic and danger signals. Components of the extracellular matrix (ECM) are detected by platelets as ‘damage associated-molecular patterns’ and can elicit pro-inflammatory responses. Platelets recognize a unique form of the glycosaminoglycan hyaluronan (HA), which recruits immune cells and platelets to sites of tissue injury. We seek to understand the interplay between HA synthesis by the endothelium and platelet-mediated HA recognition and degradation, which becomes disrupted in disease.