LAUSR

We read with great interest the article by Delierneux et al. [1] in the Journal of Thrombosis and Haemostasis. The authors elegantly describe a mechanism of platelet activation by CpG oligodeoxynucleotides (ODNs) through CLEC-2 mediated binding and uptake. This is the second platelet activation mechanism to be attributed to CpG ODNs, the first being the one described by our group involving platelet-specific collagen receptor glycoprotein VI (GPVI) [2]. CpG ODNs are short single-stranded DNA molecules resembling bacterial DNA and they were developed as potential drug candidates, largely due to their immunostimulatory properties via activation of toll-like receptor 9 (TLR9) [3]. These CpG ODNs often have a phosphorothioate (PS) backbone modification, where non-bridging oxygen atoms are replaced with sulfur to prevent rapid degradation by cellular and/or plasma nucleases [4]. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.