. Author manuscript; available in PMC: 2019 Dec 5.

Published in final edited form as: Nat Rev Cancer. 2011 Feb;11(2):123–134. doi: 10.1038/nrc3004

Table 1.

Key platelet molecules involved in tumor metastasis, and models used for their identification

Platelet or progenitor molecule	Mouse model Genotype Phenotype / background	Conclusion and implicated role in tumor metastasis
NF-E2	NF-E2−/− Complete platelet deficiency Immune deficient host	Platelets support experimental metastasis ⁶⁰
Gαq	Gαq−/− Defective platelet activation Immune competent host	Platelet activation protects tumor cells from natural killer cells; platelets support spontaneous metastasis ⁵¹
PAR4	Par4−/− Impaired platelet activation Immune competent host	Thrombin-activated platelets enhance metastasis ⁶⁰
P-selectin	P-selectin−/− Immune competent host	Platelets cohere with colon cancer cells and leukocytes to enhance metastasis ^{49, 81}
GPIbα	GpIbα−/− Immune competent host	GPIbα supports experimental metastasis of melanoma cells ¹⁰⁶
GPVI	GpVI−/− Immune competent host	GPVI enhances experimental metastasis of melanoma and lewis lung carcinoma ⁵³
LPA	Platelet depleted mice LPA receptor overexpressing tumor cells	Platelet-derived LPA enhances bone metastasis and growth of breast cancer cells ⁴⁸
β₃ integrin	Integrin β₃ −/− Immune competent host	αIIbβ₃ on platelets supports bone metastasis ⁹²

Gαq (Guanine-nucleotide-binding protein G_q), GPIbα (Glycoprotein Ibα), GPVI (Glycoprotein VI) LPA (Lysophosphatidic acid), NFE2 (Nuclear factor (erythroid-derived 2)), Par4 (Protease-activated receptor 4)