• Wassim El Nemer, Maria De Grandis, and Mégane Brusson.
• INSERM U1134, F-75739 Paris, France; Univ Paris Diderot, Sorbonne Paris Cité, UMR_S 1134, F-75739 Paris, France; Institut National de la Transfusion Sanguine F-75739 Paris, France Laboratoire d'Excellence GR-Ex France. Electronic address: wassim.el-nemer@inserm.fr.
• Thromb. Res. 2014 May 1; 133 Suppl 2: S107-11.

AbstractPolycythemia vera (PV) is a myeloproliferative neoplasm (MPN) characterised by the V617F activating mutation in the tyrosine kinase JAK2. PV patients exhibit increased haemoglobin levels and red cell mass because of uncontrolled proliferation of the erythroid lineage. Thrombosis and transformation to acute leukaemia are the major causes of morbidity and mortality in this disease. Increased thrombotic risk in PV patients is multifactorial and complex; it is associated with high levels of haemoglobin, impaired rheology and increased viscosity resulting from erythrocytosis. An additional parameter that might contribute to this risk was recently brought to light by work from our group showing abnormal activation of adhesion proteins in PV RBCs. In this review we provide an overview of these recent findings and discuss how the pro-adhesive features of JAK2V617F-positive red blood cells might initiate and contribute to the circulatory complications described in PV.Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

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