Dear editors of the journal System Biology and Physiology! In our previous article [1], a computer model of actin polymerization during the growth of neutrophil pseudopodium was proposed. In this letter, we propose a variant of using the same computer model to describe the growth of platelet lamellipodia.

In this issue of Systems Biology and Physiology Reports A.A. Martyanov and M.A. Panteleev suggested a review on platelet intracellular signalling network, which is a second part in the discussion on the molecular relationships between platelet activation and responses [1]. The review contains seven thousands words and two hundred references and yet it is not complete, as there are still unclear parts in platelet signalling, especially in its inhibition [2-4]. In an effort to comprehend the platelet activation pattern, I drew a signalling scheme based on the review and data from other authors [2, 3].

The directed movement of neutrophils is provided by the rapid polymerization of actin with the formation of a protrusion growing forward. In our previous work we observed impaired neutrophil movement for patients with Wiskott-Aldrich syndrome (WAS) compared to healthy donors.

In this work, we set out to explain the impairment of neutrophil chemotaxis in patients by observation and computer modeling of the linear growth rates of the anterior pseudopodia. The neutrophil chemotaxis was observed by means of low-angle fluorescent microscopy in parallel-plate flow chambers. The computational model was constructed as a network-like 2D stochastic polymerization of actin guided by the proximity of cell membrane with branching governed by Arp2/3 and WASP proteins.

The observed linear velocity of neutrophil pseudopodium formation was 0.22 ± 0.04 μm/s for healthy donors and 0.23 ± 0.08 μm/s for WAS patients. The model described the velocity of the pseudopodium formation for healthy donors well. For the description of WAS patients data, a variation of branching velocity (governed by WASP) by an order of magnitude was applied, which did not significantly alter the linear protrusion growth velocity.

We conclude that the proposed mathematical model of neutrophil pseudopodium formation could describe the experimental data well, but the data on overall neutrophil movement could not be explained by the velocities of the pseudopodium growth.

It is known that in COVID-19, hypercoagulation and sometimes thrombocytopenia are related to disease severity. There is also controversial data on platelet participation in COVID-19 pathology. We aimed to determine the degree of platelet hyperactivation in COVID-19 patients. Whole blood flow cytometry with Annexin-V and lactadherin staining ("PS+ platelets") was utilized. Additionally, a stochastic mathematical model of platelet production and consumption was developed. Here we demonstrated that the percentage of PS+ platelets in COVID-19 patients was twofold that of healthy donors. There was a significant correlation between the amount of PS+ platelets and the percentage of lung damage in patients. No connection was found between platelet senescence and hospital therapy or patients' chronic diseases, except for chronic lung disease. Although no thrombocytopenia was observed in patients, the observed increase in platelet size (FSC-A parameter in flow cytometry) could indicate that platelet age is decreased in patients. The developed computational model of platelet turnover confirms the possibility of intense platelet consumption without noticeable changes in platelet count. We conclude that the observed platelet hyperactivation in COVID-19 could be caused by platelet activation in circulation, leading to platelet consumption without significant thrombocytopenia.