Evidence map›Paper›PMID 42751187›Full record

ReviewFrontiers in immunology2026

Platelet factor 4 in cognitive, immune and hematopoietic aging: emerging evidence and translational challenges.

Yingying Guo, Zihua Liu, Weiwei Lu, Hao Zhuo, Zhicheng Wang, Xiaoning Wang

Abstract readReview
In one paragraph

Review in Frontiers in immunology, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
0citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

0 citing papers in PubMed.

No citing paper in PubMed yet.

4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

6 authors.

Yingying Guo *Department of Blood Transfusion, The First Hospital of Jilin University, Changchun, Jilin, China.
Zihua Liu *Department of Blood Transfusion Service, The Second Hospital of Lanzhou University, Lanzhou, Gansu, China.
Weiwei LuDepartment of Blood Transfusion, The First Hospital of Jilin University, Changchun, Jilin, China.
Hao ZhuoDepartment of Blood Transfusion Service, The Second Hospital of Lanzhou University, Lanzhou, Gansu, China.
Zhicheng WangDepartment of Transfusion Medicine, Huashan Hospital, Fudan University, Shanghai, China.
Xiaoning WangDepartment of Blood Transfusion, The First Hospital of Jilin University, Changchun, Jilin, China.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Platelet Factor 4 (PF4) is a CXC chemokine abundantly sequestered within platelet α-granules. Its modulatory roles in age-related dysfunction across cognitive, immune, and hematopoietic systems have garnered increasing research attention in recent years. PF4 modulates an array of biological pathways associated with the attenuation of aging-related cellular defects; these pathways are activated by physical activity, young plasma exposure, and Klotho-related signaling cascades. Mechanistically, PF4 engages CXCR3 and LDLR to activate downstream PI3K/Akt and MAPK signaling axes, exerting neuroprotective and immunomodulatory effects and restoring function in aged hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs). Collectively, these actions exert multifaceted effects on aging-associated cellular dysfunction. Within the central nervous system, PF4 mitigates hippocampal neuroinflammation, enhances synaptic plasticity, and promotes adult hippocampal neurogenesis to ameliorate age-dependent learning and memory deficits. In the peripheral immune system, PF4 restores balanced T-cell subset distribution and reduces circulating levels of pro-senescent inflammatory mediators. Within the bone marrow hematopoietic niche, PF4 preserves HSC quiescence, facilitates DNA damage repair, and maintains lymphoid differentiation potential. Clinical observational studies have identified correlations between circulating PF4 levels and multiple age-associated pathologies, including Alzheimer's disease, sarcopenia, stroke, and coronary artery disease, suggesting its potential as an adjunct diagnostic biomarker. Nevertheless, published findings regarding age-related changes in PF4 levels remain inconsistent, largely due to heterogeneous sample preparation protocols and detection methodologies. Furthermore, PF4 carries inherent thrombotic, profibrotic, and autoantigenic risks. Unresolved questions surrounding long-term safety, standardized dosing regimens, and tissue-targeted delivery systems represent major barriers to clinical translation. This review systematically delineates the multilayered modulatory mechanisms of PF4 in age-related cognitive, immune, and hematopoietic dysfunction, as well as its translational prospects, unresolved discrepancies, and key research gaps. We further outline prospective research directions, including protein structural optimization, refined targeted delivery strategies, and combinatorial intervention regimens, to establish a theoretical framework for future preclinical studies of PF4 as a modulator of discrete aging-related cellular phenotypes.

Indexed as

AgingCognitionHematopoiesisHematopoietic Stem CellsPlatelet Factor 4AnimalsHumansPlatelet Factor 4aging-associated pathologycognitive impairmentCXCR3hematopoietic stem cellsimmunosenescenceneuroinflammationplatelet factor 4

Identifiers

PMID42751187
PMCPMC13579907

What OpenQuestion holds

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Registered trials

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.