Reprogrammed apoptotic platelets drive rapid hemostasis through phosphatidylserine and prostaglandin E2 signaling in preclinical models
Uncontrolled hemorrhage in trauma, surgical, organ-related, and endoscopic settings, particularly in patients receiving antiplatelet therapy, remains difficult to manage clinically. Here, we introduce a high phosphatidylserine (PS)-exposed procoagulant platelet (hPPL) derivative reprogrammed from isolated platelets via calcium ionophore A23187-induced apoptosis, enriched in surface PS and capable of driving rapid hemostasis. Retaining a protein profile akin to resting platelets, hPPL robustly promoted platelet activation and aggregation in human- and rat-derived plasma and whole blood in vitro, and demonstrated superior hemostatic efficacy compared with clinical thrombin and commercial hemostatic materials (microporous polysaccharide hemispheres [MPH] and FIBRILLAR) in murine liver injury and porcine gastric ulcer bleeding models, even under antiplatelet treatment. Mechanistically, hPPL upregulated prostaglandin E synthase (PTGES), thereby increasing prostaglandin E2 (PGE 2 ) production and its receptor 3 (EP3)-mediated platelet activation, which reinforced PS-mediated clot formation. Our findings identified an apoptosis-driven PTGES/PGE 2 /EP3 signaling axis that augmented PS-mediated coagulation in murine and porcine hemorrhage models, and established hPPL as a topical hemostatic agent with translational potential for organ-related bleeding and distinct advantages in managing complex endoscopic hemorrhages under both physiological and coagulopathic conditions.
Authors
- Yaqi Zhai (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6700-758X)
- Guangjun Nie (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5040-9793)
- Suying Wu (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0008-3790-9134)
- Peina Wang (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0776-0016)
- Ammara Safdar (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0009-2078-1178)
- Zefang Lu (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0002-7538-9922)
- Zi Wang (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3953-0493)
- Suping Li (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0294-8861)
- Bozhao Li (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6502-4722)
- Jin Cheng
- Shuailun Du
- Yuchang Song
- Z Q Zeng
- Rui Zhang (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1364-0456)
- Zhenyu Liu (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0005-6480-6024)
- Dandan Li
- Jiawei Bai
- Yan-Zhong Chang (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6386-9649)
Institutions
- Hebei Medical University (CN)
- Fudan University (CN)
- Chinese PLA General Hospital (CN)
- National Center for Nanoscience and Technology (CN)
- Academy of Opto-Electronics (CN)
- Huashan Hospital (CN)
- Center for Life Sciences (CN)
- University of Chinese Academy of Sciences (CN)
- Hebei Normal University (CN)
Publication Details
- Journal
- Science Translational Medicine
- Published
- 2026-05-21
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1126/scitranslmed.aea0189
- Primary Topic
- Platelet Disorders and Treatments
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 0.00
Funders
- National Natural Science Foundation of China
- Chinese Academy of Sciences