Summary
Human platelets have unique and reproducible mRNA profiles, with evidence for distinct
profiles in haematopoietic stem cell disorders associated with thrombocytosis. Platelet
transcript profiling is traditionally studied by microarray analysis, quantitative
reverse transcription-PCR or serial analysis of gene ex-pression,techniques that are
labor- and technically-intensive.We have now applied a novel multiplex-based platform
for quantitative transcript profiling of human platelets.Simultaneous quantification
of 17 platelet transcripts was assayed using intact platelet-rich plasma or gel-filtered
platelets lysed in vitro.Accurate and reproducible profiles could be obtained from as few as 5 X 107 platelets (a platelet mass corresponding to ∼100 µl of whole blood), even for the
low-abundant platelet transcripts. Correlation coefficients of this 17-member gene
set to platelet Affymetrix microarrays were excellent (r2 = 0.949, p < 1 X 10–10), with no correlation to in kind-derived leukocyte profiles, highlighting the cell-specificity
of the platform.These data demonstrate that transcript multiplexing using fluorescent
micro-spheres can be adapted for rapid molecular profiling using intact platelets
(bypassing the need for RNA isolation methods), with potential applicability irrespective
of baseline platelet counts.
Keywords
Platelets - transcript profiling - fluorescent microspheres - Luminex - mRNA