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. Author manuscript; available in PMC: 2010 Feb 1.
Published in final edited form as: Semin Perinatol. 2009 Feb;33(1):43–51. doi: 10.1053/j.semperi.2008.10.008

Table 1.

Differences in megakaryocytopoiesis between neonates and adults.

Adults Neonates
Tpo concentrations Very high in hyporegenerative thrombocytopenia Not as high in thrombocytopenic neonates (mostly SGA) as in thrombocytopenic adults
Megakaryocyte progenitors Sparse in the blood
Give rise to small colonies
Less sensitive to Tpo		 Abundant in the blood
Give rise to large colonies
More sensitive to Tpo
Megakaryocytes Large
High ploidy levels		 Small
Low ploidy levels
Effects of rTpo Stimulates megakaryocyte polyploidization Inhibits megakaryocyte polyploidization

Adapted from: Sola-Visner MC. Thrombocytopenia in the NICU: New Insights into causative mechanisms and treatments. Haematologica reports 2006;2:65-69. Reprinted with permission.