A non‐peptide compound which can mimic the effect of thrombopoietin via c‐Mpl

Abstract
Thrombopoietin (TPO) is a cytokine which plays a central role in megakaryopoiesis and platelet production by binding to its cell surface receptor, termed c‐Mpl. In the present study, two benzodiazepinones that compete with the binding of TPO to the extracellular region of c‐Mpl were identified, and one of them stimulated the proliferation of a human TPO‐dependent megakaryocytic cell line, UT‐7/TPO. It stimulated the activation of signal transducer and activator of transcription 5 in UT‐7/TPO cells. These results suggest that a non‐peptide compound can mimic the effect of TPO via c‐Mpl.