Not Coming In

Human blood is packed with all kinds of different cells that are made inside bone marrow, from oxygen-carrying red blood cells to infection-fighting immune cells. There are also small fragments called platelets, which are essential for blood clotting. Platelets form by budding off from much larger bone marrow cells known as megakaryocytes, which are more than 10 times larger than regular blood cells Until recently, it was thought that this platelet-making role was the only job for megakaryocytes. Using a new three-dimensional microscopy technique, researchers have now discovered that megakaryocytes (green) also act as biological ‘bouncers’, creating obstacles that control the movement of immune cells (grey/cyan) into blood vessels (red) inside the bone marrow. By tracking how different types of blood cells interact and then turning these images into computer simulations, scientists can now study the behaviour of blood cells in complex, real-life situations without the need for animal experiments.

Written by Kat Arney

Kat Arney

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Dr Kat Arney is an award-winning science writer, broadcaster and public speaker, and is the founder and Creative Director of First Create The Media.

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• Image by the Heinze Group, Rudolf Virchow Center, University of Wuerzburg
• Rudolf Virchow Center for Experimental Biomedicine, University of Würzburg, Germany
• Image copyright held by the original authors
• Research published in Haematologica, June 2019