Megakaryocyte emperipolesis mediates membrane transfer from intracytoplasmic neutrophils to platelets

Abstract

Bone marrow megakaryocytes engulf neutrophils in a phenomenon termed emperipolesis. We show here that emperipolesis is a dynamic process mediated actively by both lineages, in part through the {beta}2-integrin/ICAM-1/ezrin pathway. Tethered neutrophils enter in membrane-bound vesicles before penetrating into the megakaryocyte cytoplasm. Intracytoplasmic neutrophils develop membrane contiguity with the demarcation membrane system, thereby transferring membrane to the megakaryocyte and to daughter platelets. This phenomenon occurs in otherwise unmanipulated marrow in vivo, resulting in circulating platelets that bear membrane from non-megakaryocytic hematopoietic donors. Transit through megakaryocytes can be completed as rapidly as minutes, after which neutrophils egress intact. Emperipolesis is amplified in models of inflammation associated with platelet overproduction, contributing to platelet production in vitro and in vivo. These findings identify emperipolesis as a new cell-in-cell interaction that enables neutrophils and potentially other cells passing through the megakaryocyte cytoplasm to modulate the production and membrane content of platelets.