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Published on: November 29, 2024
The Platelet Lipidome Is Altered in Patients with COVID-19 and Correlates with Platelet Reactivity
Alex R Schuurman1, Valentine Léopold1,2, Liza Pereverzeva1
1Center for Experimental and Molecular Medicine (CEMM), Amsterdam University Medical Centers - Location AMC, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
Insights
This study reveals significant changes in platelet lipids during coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), impacting platelet function. These findings highlight the role of lipidomics in understanding COVID-19 and platelet reactivity.
Area of Science:
- Biochemistry
- Hematology
- Infectious Diseases
Background:
- Activated platelets contribute to the proinflammatory and prothrombotic state in coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19).
- The lipidomic profile of platelets during infection remains largely unexplored, despite lipids' crucial roles in platelet structure and signaling.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the platelet lipidome in patients hospitalized with COVID-19.
Main Methods:
- Untargeted lipidomics was performed on platelets from 25 COVID-19 patients and 23 noninfectious controls.
- Patients and controls were matched for age, sex, and comorbidities.
Main Results:
- Significant alterations in 25% of annotated lipids were observed between COVID-19 patients and controls.
- COVID-19 platelets showed decreased levels of membrane plasmalogens and unsaturated triacylglycerols.
- Increased abundance of bis(monoacylglycero)phosphate and lysophosphatidylglycerol in COVID-19 platelets correlated with enhanced platelet reactivity.
Conclusions:
- This study offers the first exploration of the human platelet lipidome during infection, revealing profound changes in COVID-19.
- Platelet lipid composition is associated with platelet reactivity, suggesting implications for various disease states involving platelet pathophysiology.
Background:
Activated platelets have been implicated in the proinflammatory and prothrombotic phenotype of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). While it is increasingly recognized that lipids have important structural and signaling roles in platelets, the lipidomic landscape of platelets during infection has remained unexplored.
Objective:
To investigate the platelet lipidome of patients hospitalized for COVID-19.
Methods:
We performed untargeted lipidomics in platelets of 25 patients hospitalized for COVID-19 and 23 noninfectious controls with similar age and sex characteristics, and with comparable comorbidities.
Results:
Twenty-five percent of the 1,650 annotated lipids were significantly different between the groups. The significantly altered part of the platelet lipidome mostly comprised lipids that were less abundant in patients with COVID-19 (20.4% down, 4.6% up, 75% unchanged). Platelets from COVID-19 patients showed decreased levels of membrane plasmalogens, and a distinct decrease of long-chain, unsaturated triacylglycerols. Conversely, platelets from patients with COVID-19 displayed class-wide higher abundances of bis(monoacylglycero)phosphate and its biosynthetic precursor lysophosphatidylglycerol. Levels of these classes positively correlated with ex vivo platelet reactivity-as measured by P-selectin expression after PAR1 activation-irrespective of disease state.
Conclusion:
Taken together, this investigation provides the first exploration of the profound impact of infection on the human platelet lipidome, and reveals associations between the lipid composition of platelets and their reactivity. These results warrant further lipidomic research in other infections and disease states involving platelet pathophysiology.
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