The Application of Ethnomedicine in Modulating Megakaryocyte Differentiation and Platelet Counts

Abstract

Megakaryocytes (MKs), a kind of functional hematopoietic stem cell, form platelets to maintain platelet balance through cell differentiation and maturation. In recent years, the incidence of blood diseases such as thrombocytopenia has increased, but these diseases cannot be fundamentally solved. The platelets produced by MKs can treat thrombocytopenia-associated diseases in the body, and myeloid differentiation induced by MKs has the potential to improve myelosuppression and erythroleukemia. Currently, ethnomedicine is extensively used in the clinical treatment of blood diseases, and the recent literature has reported that many phytomedicines can improve the disease status through MK differentiation. This paper reviewed the effects of botanical drugs on megakaryocytic differentiation covering the period 1994–2022, and information was obtained from PubMed, Web of Science and Google Scholar. In conclusions, we summarized the role and molecular mechanism of many typical botanical drugs in promoting megakaryocyte differentiation in vivo, providing evidence as much as possible for botanical drugs treating thrombocytopenia and other related diseases in the future.

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“…Thrombocytopenia is linked to multiple syndromes and diseases and can be an early indicator of hematologic malignancies, thrombotic microangiopathies, infectious diseases, and autoimmune disorders, as well as a common adverse effect of numerous medications [ 103 ]. Megakaryocytes (MKs) are a type of functional hematopoietic stem cells; by differentiating and maturing MKs, it is possible to treat thrombocytopenia-related diseases [ 104 ]. In the hematopoietic system, transcription factors, cytokines, adhesion factors, and chemokines regulate MKs.…”