Abstract

The platelet storage lesion (PSL) is best defined as the sum of all deleterious changes leading to progressive damage in platelet structure and function that arise from the time blood is drawn from a donor to the time platelets are transfused to a recipient. Proteomics, the analysis of all proteins of a system at a defined state, has gained increasing interest in hematology as a diagnostic tool. The application of proteomics in transfusion medicine holds promise to revolutionize quality assessment and therapeutic monitoring. The potential of proteomics as a viable tool for the identification of the PSL has since increased dramatically with the development of mass spectrometry and has required the development of quantitative proteomic techniques such as differential gel electrophoresis, isotope-coded affinity tagging, and isotope tagging for relative and absolute quantitation. In principle, two main areas in the field of proteomics have been developed, each of them having its pros and cons. These fields are “profiling” and “functional” proteomics. With the recent implementation of pathogen reduction technologies (PRT) a new dimension of challenges has appeared on the horizon. The treatment of platelet concentrates with either UV-A and a photo sensitizer or UV-C revealed acceleration of PSL development. In conclusion, proteomics thus provides an excellent tool to decode complex processes by identifying novel platelet-expressed proteins and analysing functional changes of the platelet proteome. These recent results suggest that protein kinases might represent one important group of proteins involved in the development of PSL and provide a potential target for inhibition in order to reduce development of PSL. Bacterial risk receives and deserves a lot of attention when it comes to extension of platelet storage; however, determining the quality of platelets during storage needs to be treated with equal importance. As a platelet's life span is 7–10 days, extension of the platelet's shelf life by 2–3 days would improve platelet inventory and efforts of donor recruitment tremendously, as well as to the overall cost of provision of this blood product to patients.

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