Involvement of neutrophils in thrombus formation in living mice.

Thrombosis is one of the major causes of human death worldwide. Identification of the cellular and molecular mechanisms leading to thrombus formation is thus crucial for the understanding of the thrombotic process. To examine thrombus formation in a living mouse, new technologies have been developed. Digital intravital microscopy allows to visualize the development of thrombosis and generation of fibrin in real-time within living animal in a physiological context. This specific system allowed the identification of new cellular partners involved in platelet adhesion and activation. Furthermore, it improved, especially, the knowledge of the early phase of thrombus formation and fibrin generation in vivo. Until now, platelets used to be considered the sole central player in thrombus generation. However, recently, it has been demonstrated that leukocytes, particularly neutrophils, play a crucial role in the activation of the blood coagulation cascade leading to thrombosis. In this review, we summarized the mechanisms leading to thrombus formation in the microcirculation according to the method of injury in mice with a special focus on the new identified roles of neutrophils in this process.