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Blood platelets are critical for hemostasis and thrombosis and play diverse roles during immune responses. Despite these versatile tasks in mammalian biology, their skills on a cellular level are deemed limited, mainly consisting in rolling, adhesion, and aggregate formation. Here, we identify an unappreciated asset of platelets and show that adherent platelets use adhesion receptors to mechanically probe the adhesive substrate in their local microenvironment. When actomyosin-dependent traction forces overcome substrate resistance, platelets migrate and pile up the adhesive substrate together with any bound particulate material. They use this ability to act as cellular scavengers, scanning the vascular surface for potential invaders and collecting deposited bacteria. Microbe collection by migrating platelets boosts the activity of professional phagocytes, exacerbating inflammatory tissue injury in sepsis. This assigns platelets a central role in innate immune responses and identifies them as potential targets to dampen inflammatory tissue damage in clinical scenarios of severe systemic infection. In addition to their role in thrombosis and hemostasis, platelets can also migrate to sites of infection to help trap bacteria and clear the vascular surface.

Von Willebrand factor (vWF), a glycoprotein in blood, mediates the adhesion of blood platelets and thus plays a crucial role in hemostasis and thrombosis. Functional coating of surfaces with vWF allows the investigation of in vitro adhesion of blood platelet. We used soft lithography to create a functional patterned substrate. vWF was printed on plasma-treated glass and mica surfaces, producing elongated network-like fibril structures. A minimum layer thickness of 3 nm was observed, corresponding to the height of a monolayer of vWF. The stability of the patterns was verified in a laminar fluid flow, and the bioactivity of the structures was tested with platelet adhesion experiments. Platelets adhered to and spread on printed vWF. These results indicate that printed vWF substrates are stable and functional in typical perfusion experiments, and thus provide a useful tool for studying thrombus formation in vitro.

Collagen is the main connective tissue protein of vertebrates and shows exceptional mechanical and optical properties. The alignment of collagen fibrils correlates to the function of a specific tissue and leads to optical anisotropy. The effect of the molecular alignment on Raman scattering, however, has barely been investigated. We found that the peak intensities of the C─C, C═O, and N─H vibrational modes, which are typical for the Raman bands of the protein backbone, change with the orientation of the collagen fibrils. These observations demonstrate that Raman spectra contain specific information regarding molecular and fiber alignment.

Skin protects the body from pathogens and degradation. Mummified skin in particular is extremely resistant to decomposition. External influences or the action of micro-organisms, however, can degrade the connective tissue and lay the subjacent tissue open. To determine the degree of tissue preservation in mummified human skin and, in particular, the reason for its durability, we investigated the structural integrity of its main protein, type I collagen. We extracted samples from the Neolithic glacier mummy known as ‘the Iceman’. Atomic force microscopy (AFM) revealed collagen fibrils that had characteristic banding patterns of 69 ± 5 nm periodicity. Both the microstructure and the ultrastructure of dermal collagen bundles and fibrils were largely unaltered and extremely well preserved by the natural conservation process. Raman spectra of the ancient collagen indicated that there were no significant modifications in the molecular structure. However, AFM nanoindentation measurements showed slight changes in the mechanical behaviour of the fibrils. Young's modulus of single mummified fibrils was 4.1 ± 1.1 GPa, whereas the elasticity of recent collagen averages 3.2 ± 1.0 GPa. The excellent preservation of the collagen indicates that dehydration owing to freeze-drying of the collagen is the main process in mummification and that the influence of the degradation processes can be addressed, even after 5300 years.