MicroRNA and hyperaggregability of platelets in women with sticky platelet syndrome and pregnancy complications

We aimed to characterize relationship between the expression profiles of platelet miR-96, miR-126 and miR-223 and platelet function examination in patients with sticky platelet syndrome (SPS) and in healthy controls. MicroRNAs (miRNA, miR) are a group of small and non-coding RNAs involved in many mechanisms as regulators of post-transcriptional protein expression in platelets. SPS is defined as platelet hyperaggregability after administration of low doses of adenosine diphosphate and/or epinephrine. Clear genetic abnormality of this syndrome is not known yet. We examined 45 patients with SPS and 30 healthy volunteers. For functional platelet examination we used light transmission aggregometry, and qRT-PCR was used to determine the expression of the miRNAs. We observed no relationship of the platelet miRNA expression with functional platelet examination in the entire cohort of patients with SPS. However, in a group of patients with SPS and pregnancy complications, we found that the expression of platelet miR-96 (p = 0.009) was up-regulated. In spite of the multiple limitations of the study, it can be considered that the increased expression of platelet miR-96 found in a group of patients with SPS and pregnancy complications could be related to the hyperaggregability in these selected patients (Tab. 2, Ref. 31).