The aim of this study is to investigate the effects of a nitric oxide (NO) donor S-nitrosoglutathione (GSNO) on the metabolism and improvement of preservation quality in apheresis platelets. A GSNO solution with a certain concentration was added into fresh apheresis platelets, and the parameters associated with platelet morphology, metabolism and function were temporally monitored for 7 days. The results showed that the NO level in GSNO group were remarkably higher than those in the control group during the whole storage stage. No significant morphology or function difference was observed between the control and GSNO groups such as Platelet count, platelet distribution width, mean platelet volume and mitochondrial metabolic activity. But in metabolism there are something differences from morphology data: pCO2, pO2, cHCO3- were also found to have no clear difference between the control and GSNO groups; the lactic acid content, sugar consumption and Lactate dehydrogenase activity in the GSNO group were lower than that in the control group at some time point; and pH values in the GSNO group were higher than the control group. Our study discovered that the NO donor GSNO can reduce the metabolism and maintain the cellular characteristics of platelets in vitro during the platelet storage period.
Keywords: GSNO; Nitric oxide donor; Platelet storage lesion.