The glycan fingerprint in immune thrombocytopenia

A state-of-the-art lecture titled "Platelet Glycobiology and Immune Thrombocytopenia (ITP)" was presented at the International Society on Thrombosis and Haemostasis (ISTH) congress in 2025. In this review, we summarize the current knowledge on glycan-mediated mechanisms in ITP, including glycan alterations of platelet autoantibodies and on the surface of platelets and megakaryocytes. We discuss how these glycan modifications might contribute to thrombocytopenia, and potentially to an increased risk of bleeding in patients with ITP. We address relevant new data on this topic and emphasize key directions for future ITP glycobiology research.