Recently, “omics” technology, such as proteomics and metabolomics, have become more accessible. This is facilitated by the decreased cost of performing these assays and the increased recognition that a large repertoire of information about platelet storage biology can be generated
[26]. An untargeted metabolomic approach was used to examine the effect of cold temperature on metabolites during platelet storage. Compared to RPs, CPs had significantly decreased oxidative stress compared to RPs. CPs had reduced glutathione consumption during storage as well
[14][27]. When examining the trends in metabolite changes using principal component analysis, the metabolomic profile of CPs stored for 21 days clustered closely to day 5 stored RPs
[27]. Intuitively, the cold temperature should slow down the metabolism of platelets, which would lead to less activated metabolomic pathways; however, the metabolomic data suggested otherwise. Some glycolytic pathways in CPs, such as the pentose phosphate pathway and the purine metabolism pathway, had an increase in activity after prolonged storage in the cold
[27]. Results from untargeted metabolomics were also used to complement the in vitro characterization of stored platelets. Specifically, metabolomic pathways that respond to oxidative stress, such as the pentose phosphate pathway, were shown to positively correlate with platelet function measured by ROTEM and light transmission aggregometry
[14]. In addition, mechanical shaking did not result in a significant difference in the in vitro storage characteristics or metabolomic profiles of CPs
[14]. This suggests that agitation may not be required in CPs.
4. Reduction of CPs Storage Lesion, a Work in Progress
Results from the recent omics study showed that oxidative stress played a significant role in platelet storage lesion both in RPs and CPs. Hence, to improve CPs’ storage quality, both synthetic and naturally occurring antioxidants have been used as supplements. N-acetylcysteine (NAC) has been used as a supplement to minimize the mitochondrial uncoupling and proton leaks caused by cold-storage [32]. NAC supplement also showed the slight effect of reducing ROS in CPs. Both RPs and CPs with NAC supplement had better correction in a mice tail bleeding experiment than CPs without NAC [32]. However, these experiments had relatively few biological replicates. In addition, the use of platelet additive solution (PAS) could have influenced the results as well. In another study, whole blood-derived platelet rich plasma (PRP) supplemented with NAC and stored in the cold seemed to have reduced platelet activation measured by P-selectin expression compared to RPs [33]. NAC supplement did not result in differences in the phosphatidylserine expression of CPs or RPs. However, the platelets used in this experiment were stored in gas-permeable tubes instead of standardized storage containers, making it difficult to draw solid conclusions [33]. In a follow-up study, the effect of NAC on CPs post-transfusion recovery has been tested using the Prkdcscid mouse model [34]. There was a slight improvement of platelet recovery 2 h post transfusion in the CPs with the NAC group. However, this improved recovery effect was diminished after 24 h post transfusion [34]. It is important to note that in this mouse study, CPs without NAC supplement were not tested due to aggregate formation in the storage bag. The absence of this control makes data interpretation more challenging, as the result could be due to either the storage temperatures or the addition of NAC. Another antioxidant, resveratrol, and a mitochondrial targeting protein, cytochrome c, have been used to reduce oxidative stress in CPs as well [35]. The preliminary results from these supplements showed decreased ROS in resveratrol-treated CPs [35]. However, further investigation of supplemented CPs function and transfusion efficacy are needed.
In addition to using antioxidants, synthetic molecules have also been used to reduce the lesion in CPs. Specialized pro-resolving mediators (SPMs) are biosynthesized molecules derived from essential fatty acids. SPMs have been found to reduce acute inflammation during the host response to invading pathogens
[36]. Specific SPMs, such as resolving E1, have been found to regulate platelet activations
[37]. In CPs, the addition of SPMs significantly reduced the glycoprotein 1b expression compared to CPs without SPMs
[38]. However, in this study, there were no RPs with SPMs as a control. It is not clear what other effects SPMs may have in CPs during storage. Similarly, sodium octanoate (SO) was used as a supplement in CPs to improve mitochondrial activity and reduce CPs apoptosis
[39]. Although CPs with SO seem to trend toward better mitochondrial activity compared to CPs without SO, the results were not statistically significant. Furthermore, although a lower phosphatidylserine expression was observed with CPs with SO on day 5 of storage, further analysis of the caspase-3 level between the treatment groups was not significant. Platelet endocytosis with HepG2 cell models also did not show a difference in SO-treated versus non-treated CPs
[39]. Finally, integrin inhibitor RGDS and a calcium ion chelator EGTA were added to improve cold-stored platelet post-transfusion clearance
[40]. It is important to note that this experiment was performed with mouse platelets, and the cold storage period of murine platelets was for a maximum of 24 h. While the calcium chelator EGTA showed some improvement in cold-stored murine platelet clearance, the effect disappeared when EGTA was used in human platelets. In addition, EGTA supplementation in human PRP prevented the reduction in platelet count commonly observed in CPs during storage as well as aggregate formation. However, CPs stored in PAS could also achieve similar effects, so the exact function of EGTA in CPs is not as straightforward as it seems.
5. Safer CPs: Pathogen Inactivation and Platelet Additive Solutions
Despite stringent donor eligibility criteria, blood products are still exposed to the risk of emerging pathogen contaminations. West Nile outbreaks in the past and the recent outbreak of Zika virus in the US are good examples of this
[41][42]. Pathogen inactivation (PI) technology has been attracting interest in further securing the safety of blood components
[43]. This technology targets and damages the nucleic acids of pathogens using ultraviolet light, thus preventing pathogen replication in blood products. PI RPs have been licensed in many countries including the US, Spain, and Switzerland, according to a report by AABB
[44]. CPs, due to the lower storage temperature, have been shown to slow the growth of bacteria
[12]. However, psychrophilic bacteria, such as
Yersinia enterocolitica, can survive at 4 °C and proliferate to a clinically significant level
[45].
Yersinia enterocolitica has been associated with transfusion reaction in red blood cell transfusions
[46]. Thus, there are incentives in investigating the effect of PI on CPs. Recent data show that CPs in PAS treated with Intercept PI (Cerus Corporation, Concord, CA, USA) had less activation level and aggregation in response to agonists than non-PI treated CPs
[47]. However, when tested in microfluidic devices, PI-treated CPs had a better fibrin formation rate
[47]. One caveat for this study is that the platelets were only stored for up to 5 days in the cold. When Intercept PI-treated CPs were stored for an extended period up to 21 days, there was no major difference in the metabolism of the platelets in terms of count, pH, glucose, or lactate compared to non-PI-treated CPs
[48]. Interestingly, PI treatment resulted in significant changes to CPs function. There was a significant reduction in clot retraction capabilities in PI-treated CPs. There was also elevated phalloidin staining in PI-treated CPs. Furthermore, there was also an elevated lysis index at 30 min measured by ROTEM in PI-treated CPs
[48]. These data suggest that PI may adversely affect CPs during storage. A different PI system, Theraflex UV-platelet System (UVC), was also used on CPs
[49]. Similar to the effects of the Intercept system, this technology also resulted in damage to the CPs, as shown by decreased HSR response. In addition, PI-treated CPs also had higher activation shown by annexin V staining and higher release of microparticles compared to untreated CPs
[49]. Together, these results show that PI does have significant effects on the cold storage of platelets. More data on the post-transfusion effectiveness of PI-treated CPs are needed to fully understand the feasibility of these platelets in the clinic.
Platelet additive solution (PAS) is a chemical solution that can replace plasma in platelet storage. Different types of PAS used in studying CPs have been summarized in
Table 1. PAS provides several benefits. First, PAS can be used to replace some of the plasma in platelet storage. Then, the replaced plasma can be used for fractionation into intravenous immunoglobulin (IVIg) to help with the ongoing shortages
[50][51]. In addition, reducing the amount of plasma in a platelet unit lowers the risk of allergic transfusion reactions
[52]. This adds an additional layer of safety for the transfusion recipients. In CPs, there have been suggestions that PAS could be beneficial
[53]. It was first established that similarly to PAS in RPs, a residual of 35% plasma is optimal for CPs in stored PAS
[54]. Based on this result, the effects of different PAS on CPs storage quality have been investigated. For example, two FDA-approved collections and PAS storage systems of platelets (Trima apheresis collection system in Isoplate PAS versus Amicus collection system in Intersol PAS) stored in the cold were compared
[55]. The results showed that there were only minor differences in the platelet count over 15 days of storage between the two systems. CPs produced from the two systems also had similar aggregation response profiles
[55]. It is important to note that the minor differences observed could be contributed by either the different apheresis collection instruments or by the different PAS. To further differentiate the storage quality of CPs in PAS versus in plasma, ISO PAS platelets were stored for 19 days and compared to apheresis platelets in 100% plasma
[56]. CPs stored in PAS had significantly reduced glucose consumptions versus CPs in plasma. This is likely due to the substitution of acetate as an energy source instead of glucose, while also reducing lactate production. Day 19 CPs PAS also had acceptable pH, which would meet FDA pH criteria
[56]. One criticism for this work is that the CPs in 100% plasma were only stored for 3 days, making parallel comparison to day 19 CPs in PAS difficult. CPs stored in PAS-E in also maintained pH above 6.4 for 21 days
[57]. The aggregation response to agonists is the same between CPs in PAS versus CPs in plasma. However, it is important to note that the addition of PAS to CPs reduced fibrinogen concentration and other coagulation factors, which could be detrimental to the recipient upon transfusion. In addition, PAS could provide additional benefits specific to CPs. The lowered fibrinogen concentration in PAS leads to a significant reduction of aggregate formation while preserving the in vitro function in CPs
[10]. Additionally, PAS may help in maintaining mitochondrial integrity by reducing the depolarization of the inner membrane potential in CPs
[58]. Finally, the type of PAS used in CPs could also affect the post-transfusion recovery. The recoveries of CPs stored in either 100% plasma, Intersol, or Isoplate PAS were compared in an in vivo transfusion of autologous radiolabeled platelets into healthy donors. Interestingly, CPs stored in Intersol had better recoveries than CPs in Isoplate. However, CPs stored in 100% plasma still had better than CPs stored in either PAS
[59].
Table 1. Different platelet additive solutions (PAS) used in recent investigations of cold-stored platelets (CPs).
PAS |
Author |
Ref |
Main Usage |
T-PAS |
Nair et al. |
[21] |
Investigation of the clot structure of CPs. |
T-PAS |
Reddoch-Cardenas et al. |
[56] |
Compared CPs stored in PAS versus RPs and CPs in plasma. |
T-PAS and Intersol |
Getz et al. |
[10] |
Reduce aggregate formation in CPs using PAS. |
SSP+ |
Six et al. |
[47] |
Pathogen inactivation (Intercept). |
SSP+ |
Johnson et al. |
[49] |
Pathogen inactivation (Theraflex UV-platelet System). |
SSP+ |
Marini et al. |
[54] |
Plasma replacement and test for the percentage of residual plasma required. |
SSP+ |
Wood et al. |
[60] |
Delayed cold storage. |
PAS-E |
Hegde et al. |
[32] |
NAC supplementation in CPs |
PAS-E |
Johnson et al. |
[57] |
Prolonged platelet cold storage. |
Intersol |
Agey et al. |
[48] |
Pathogen inactivation (Intercept). |
Isoplate |
Reddoch-Cardenas et al. |
[58] |
Preserving mitochondrial function in CPs. |
Isoplate and Intersol |
Reddoch-Cardenas et al. |
[55] |
Compare the CPs storage characteristics in two FDA approved PAS. |
Isoplate and Intersol |
Stolla et al. |
[59] |
PAS in CPs in vivo recoveries using autologous radiolabeled platelet transfusion. |
PAS-IIIM |
Braathen et al. |
[61] |
Delayed cold storage. |