Role of Thrombopoietin in Stimulating Megakaryopoiesis of ITP Patients Via Rescuing Vascular Niche

Background: Previous studies have shown that the vascular niche was damaged in patients with immune thrombocytopenia (ITP). It is mainly manifested that the migration and tube-formation ability of bone marrow endothelial progenitor cells (BM-EPCs) were significantly reduced. Endothelial cells as an important part of the vascular niche play an important role in regulation of megakaryocytes and platelet hematopoiesis. Our previous studies suggested that thrombopoietin (TPO) has a protective effect on human endothelial cells. This study aim to investigate whether TPO has a protective effect in EPCs of ITP patients and to explore its mechanism.