Background: Genetic analysis of platelet mRNA may facilitate the diagnosis of disorders affecting the megakaryocytic-platelet lineage. Its use, however, is limited by the exceptionally small yield of platelet mRNA and the risk of leukocyte contamination during platelet preparation.
Methods: We depleted platelet suspensions of leukocytes by filtration and used a PCR-based RNA amplification step [switching mechanism at the 5' end of RNA templates (SMART)].