Differential Expression Analysis by RNA-Seq Reveals Perturbations in the Platelet mRNA Transcriptome Triggered by Pathogen Reduction Systems

Platelet concentrates (PCs) are prepared at blood banks for transfusion to patients in certain clinical conditions associated with a low platelet count. To prevent transfusion-transmitted infections via PCs, different pathogen reduction (PR) systems have been developed that inactivate the nucleic acids of contaminating pathogens by chemical cross-linking, a mechanism that may also affect platelets' nucleic acids. We previously reported that treatment of stored platelets with the PR system Intercept significantly reduced the level of half of the microRNAs that were monitored, induced platelet activation and compromised the platelet response to physiological agonists. Using genome-wide differ…