thrombopoietin

Thrombopoietin is an endogenous glycoprotein hormone produced primarily by the liver and kidney that regulates platelet production (thrombopoiesis) in humans. It acts as a humoral growth factor necessary for the proliferation and maturation of megakaryocytes—the bone marrow cells responsible for producing platelets. Thrombopoietin is the natural ligand for the thrombopoietin receptor (also known as MPL or c-Mpl), which upon activation triggers signaling pathways such as JAK2/STAT5 to promote megakaryocyte differentiation and increase platelet counts. While recombinant forms of thrombopoietin were developed for therapeutic use in conditions like thrombocytopenia (low platelet count), clinical trials were discontinued due to immunogenicity concerns—specifically, patients developed neutralizing antibodies against both recombinant and endogenous TPO, leading to worsened thrombocytopenia. As a result, direct use of native or recombinant human thrombopoietin is not approved therapeutically; instead, synthetic TPO receptor agonists are used clinically[2][5][7].

Other names

megakaryocyte growth and development factorc-Mpl ligandTHPO