A promegakaryocyte is a

precursor cell In cell biology, precursor cells—also called blast cells—are partially differentiated, or intermediate, and are sometimes referred to as progenitor cells. A precursor cell is a stem cell with the capacity to differentiate into only one cell ...

for a

megakaryocyte A megakaryocyte () is a large bone marrow cell with a lobation, lobated nucleus that produces blood platelets (thrombocytes), which are necessary for normal blood coagulation, clotting. In humans, megakaryocytes usually account for 1 out of 10,00 ...

, the development of which proceeds as follows: : CFU-Meg (

hematopoietic stem cell Hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs) are the stem cells that give rise to other blood cells. This process is called haematopoiesis. In vertebrates, the first definitive HSCs arise from the ventral endothelial wall of the embryonic aorta within the ...

/hemocytoblast) → megakaryoblast → promegakaryocyte →

Promegakaryocytes and other precursor cells to megakaryocytes arise from pluripotential

hematopoietic Haematopoiesis (; ; also hematopoiesis in American English, sometimes h(a)emopoiesis) is the formation of blood cellular components. All cellular blood components are derived from haematopoietic stem cells. In a healthy adult human, roughly ten ...

progenitors, also known as hemocytoblasts. The megakaryoblast is then produced, followed by the promegakaryocyte, the granular megakaryocyte, and then the mature megakaryocyte. When it is in its promegakaryocyte stage, it is considered an undifferentiated cell. When the megakaryoblast matures into the promegakaryocyte, it undergoes

endoreduplication Endoreduplication (also referred to as endoreplication or endocycling) is replication of the nuclear genome in the absence of mitosis, which leads to elevated nuclear gene content and polyploidy. Endoreduplication can be understood simply as a vari ...

and forms a promegakaryocyte which has multiple nuclei, azurophilic granules, and a

basophilic Basophilic is a technical term used by pathologists. It describes the appearance of cells, tissues and cellular structures as seen through the microscope after a histological section has been stained with a basic dye. The most common such dye ...

cytoplasm. The promegakaryocyte has rotary motion, but no forward migration. Megakaryocyte pieces will eventually break off and begin circulating the body as

platelet Platelets or thrombocytes () are a part of blood whose function (along with the coagulation#Coagulation factors, coagulation factors) is to react to bleeding from blood vessel injury by clumping to form a thrombus, blood clot. Platelets have no ...

s. Platelets are very important because of their role in

blood clotting Coagulation, also known as clotting, is the process by which blood changes from a liquid to a gel, forming a thrombus, blood clot. It results in hemostasis, the cessation of blood loss from a damaged vessel, followed by repair. The process of co ...

immune response An immune response is a physiological reaction which occurs within an organism in the context of inflammation for the purpose of defending against exogenous factors. These include a wide variety of different toxins, viruses, intra- and extracellula ...

, and the formation of new

blood vessel Blood vessels are the tubular structures of a circulatory system that transport blood throughout many Animal, animals’ bodies. Blood vessels transport blood cells, nutrients, and oxygen to most of the Tissue (biology), tissues of a Body (bi ...

References

External links

"Marrow aspirate, 10x. Promegakaryocyte" at ttuhsc.edu

"Megakaryocytes: Promegakaryocyte" at bloodline.net
Immune system Blood cells {{cell-biology-stub