Platelet Imaging

Abstract

The knowledge gained through imaging platelets has formed the backbone of our understanding of their biology in health and disease. Early investigators relied on conventional light microscopy with limited resolution and were primarily able to identify the presence and basic morphology of platelets. The advent of high resolution technologies, in particular, electron microscopy, accelerated our understanding of the dynamics of platelet ultrastructure dramatically. Further refinements and improvements in our ability to localize and reliably identify platelet structures have included the use of immune-labeling techniques, correlative-fluorescence light and electron microscopy, and super-resolution microscopies. More recently, the expanded development and application of intravital microscopy in animal models has enhanced our knowledge of platelet functions and thrombus formation in vivo, as these experimental systems most closely replicate native biological environments. Emerging improvements in our ability to characterize platelets at the ultrastructural and organelle levels include the use of platelet cryogenic electron tomography with quantitative, unbiased imaging analysis, and the ability to genetically label platelet features with electron dense markers for analysis by electron microscopy.