Pannexin- and Connexin-Mediated Intercellular Communication in Platelet Function.

The three major blood cell types, i.e., platelets, erythrocytes and leukocytes, are all produced in the bone marrow.

Pannexin1 Single Nucleotide Polymorphism and Platelet Reactivity in a Cohort of Cardiovascular Patients.

Pannexin1 (Panx1), a membrane channel-forming protein permitting the passage of small-sized molecules, such as ATP, is expressed in human platelets. Recently, we showed that inhibiting Panx1 affects collagen-induced platelet aggregation but not aggregation triggered by other agonists. We also found that a single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP; rs1138800) in the Panx1 gene encoded for a gain-of-function channel (Panx1-400C) and was associated with enhanced collagen-induced platelet reactivity.