Mitochondria in precision medicine; linking bioenergetics and metabolomics in platelets

Mitochondria possess reserve bioenergetic capacity, supporting protection and resilience in the face of disease. Approaches are limited to understand factors that impact mitochondrial functional reserve in humans. We applied the mitochondrial stress test (MST) to platelets from healthy subjects and found correlations between energetic parameters and mitochondrial function. These parameters were not correlated with mitochondrial complex I-IV activities, however, suggesting that other factors affect mitochondrial bioenergetics and metabolism. Platelets from African American patients with sickle cell disease also differed from controls, further showing that other factors impact mitochondrial bioenergetics and metabolism. To test for correlations of platelet metabolites with energetic parameters, we performed an integrated analysis of metabolomics and MST parameters. Subsets of metabolites, including fatty acids and xenobiotics correlated with mitochondrial parameters. The results establish platelets as a platform to integrate bioenergetics and metabolism for analysis of mitochondrial function in precision medicine.