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Thrombopoietin (TPO) is produced primarily in the liver and secondarily in the kidneys and bone marrow. It can bind to a receptor (which is the proto-oncogene c-Mpl, a homolog of an envelope protein of the myeloproliferative leukemia virus) on primitive blood cells and megakaryoctes and stimulate those cells to grow (proliferate) and evolve into platelet-producing megakaryocytes. The mass of TPO predicted from the sequence is about 35 kDa, but masses reported from measurements of material in serum or in culture fluid from recombinant cells vary from 18-70 kDa. This has led to suggestions that TPO is highly glycosylated and that it is susceptible to proteolytic processing. In clinical trails, TPO has proven useful in shortening the time for platelet recovery after chemotherapy but it is not currently approved for routine use. It is quite clear, however, that TPO does not regulate the release of platelets by megakaryocytes. This final step in platelet formation seems to be regulated by a separate process. For research use only, not for use in diagnostic procedures.
Thrombopoietin (TPO) is produced primarily in the liver and secondarily in the kidneys and bone marrow. It can bind to a receptor (which is the proto-oncogene c-Mpl, a homolog of an envelope protein of the myeloproliferative leukemia virus) on primitive blood cells and megakaryoctes and stimulate those cells to grow (proliferate) and evolve into platelet-producing megakaryocytes. The mass of TPO predicted from the sequence is about 35 kDa, but masses reported from measurements of material in serum or in culture fluid from recombinant cells vary from 18-70 kDa. This has led to suggestions that TPO is highly glycosylated and that it is susceptible to proteolytic processing. In clinical trails, TPO has proven useful in shortening the time for platelet recovery after chemotherapy but it is not currently approved for routine use. It is quite clear, however, that TPO does not regulate the release of platelets by megakaryocytes. This final step in platelet formation seems to be regulated by a separate process. For research use only, not for use in diagnostic procedures.