Platelet mitochondria, a potent immune mediator in neurological diseases

Yan Ma; Qian Jiang; Bingxin Yang; Xiaoyu Hu; Gang Shen; Wei Shen; Jing Xu

doi:10.3389/fphys.2023.1210509

Platelet mitochondria, a potent immune mediator in neurological diseases

Front Physiol. 2023 Sep 1:14:1210509. doi: 10.3389/fphys.2023.1210509. eCollection 2023.

Authors

Yan Ma^#^{1

2

3}, Qian Jiang^#^{1

2

3}, Bingxin Yang^#⁴, Xiaoyu Hu^{1

2

3}, Gang Shen^{1

2}, Wei Shen⁴, Jing Xu⁵

Affiliations

¹ Transfusion Research Department, Wuhan Blood Center, Wuhan, Hubei, China.
² Institute of Blood Transfusion of Hubei Province, Wuhan Blood Center, Wuhan, Hubei, China.
³ Wuhan National Laboratory for Optoelectronics and School of Physics, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, China.
⁴ Wuhan Puai Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, Hubei, China.
⁵ Wuhan Blood Center, Wuhan, Hubei, China.

^# Contributed equally.

Abstract

Dysfunction of the immune response is regarded as a prominent feature of neurological diseases, including neurodegenerative diseases, malignant tumors, acute neurotraumatic insult, and cerebral ischemic/hemorrhagic diseases. Platelets play a fundamental role in normal hemostasis and thrombosis. Beyond those normal functions, platelets are hyperactivated and contribute crucially to inflammation and immune responses in the central nervous system (CNS). Mitochondria are pivotal organelles in platelets and are responsible for generating most of the ATP that is used for platelet activation and aggregation (clumping). Notably, platelet mitochondria show marked morphological and functional alterations under heightened inflammatory/oxidative stimulation. Mitochondrial dysfunction not only leads to platelet damage and apoptosis but also further aggravates immune responses. Improving mitochondrial function is hopefully an effective strategy for treating neurological diseases. In this review, the authors discuss the immunomodulatory roles of platelet-derived mitochondria (PLT-mitos) in neurological diseases and summarize the neuroprotective effects of platelet mitochondria transplantation.

Keywords: central nervous system; mitochondria; neuroinflammation; platelet; transplantation.

Publication types

Review

Grants and funding

This study was funded by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (31600692, 32271428), the Natural Science Fund of Hubei Province (2017CFB406), the Fund of Hubei Province Municipal Health and Health Commission (WJ2023M138), the Fund of Wuhan Municipal Health and Health Commission (WG14B13, EX20C15), Weigao research fund project of Chinese Society of Blood Transfusion (2021, CSBT-WG-2021-04), Wuhan Blood Center Yumiao Research Project (2021-WXYB03), the fund of Knowledge Innovation of Wuhan Science and Technology Bureau (Grant No.2022020801010558), and the Open Project Program of Wuhan National Laboratory for Optoelectronics NO. 2022 WNLOKF016.