Cytosolic and mitochondrial Ca(2+) signaling in procoagulant platelets

Platelets are the major cellular contributor to arterial thrombosis. However, activated platelets form two distinct subpopulations during thrombosis. Pro-aggregatory platelets aggregate to form the main body of the thrombus. In contrast, procoagulant platelets expose phosphatidylserine on their outer surface and promote thrombin generation. This apparently all-or-nothing segregation into subpopulations indicates that, during activation, platelets commit to becoming procoagulant or pro-aggregatory. Although the signaling pathways that control this commitment are not understood, distinct cytosolic and mitochondrial Ca(2+) signals in different subpopulations are likely to be central. In this review, we discuss how these Ca(2+) signals control procoagulant platelet formation and whether this process can be targeted pharmacologically to prevent arterial thrombosis.