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Discovery of PITTs shows platelets can switch from clotting to driving vessel inflammation
- January 23, 2026 at 9:14 AM
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A team from Würzburg has fundamentally changed our understanding of platelet biology. The researchers demonstrate that the surface protein integrin αIIbβ3 is not only a key molecule in blood clotting, but can also act as a pro-inflammatory effector during severe disease processes. Under these conditions, αIIbβ3 switches function and becomes a structural component of a previously unknown organelle: PITT (platelet-derived integrin- and tetraspanin-rich tether).
Originally published at Phys.org