Protective effect of L-carnitine on platelet apoptosis during storage of platelet concentrate.

Background: Platelet apoptosis is considered as one of the important factors involved in platelet storage lesion (PSL) and affect the quality of platelets during storage. The beneficial effect of L-carnitine (LC) on platelet apoptosis during platelet concentrates (PCs) storage has not been fully investigated. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effects of LC on platelets of PC regarding their apoptosis markers during storage.

Methods: Ten PCs from healthy donors were investigated in this study. PCs were prepared by platelet rich plasma (PRP) method and stored at 22±2°C with gentle agitation during storage. The effects of LC (15mM) on the platelet apoptosis were assessed by analyzing different indicative presence or absence of LC. Sampling was performed to evaluate apoptosis markers during platelet storage.

Results: The results indicated significantly higher mitochondrial membrane potential for LC-treated platelets than the untreated on the days 2 and 5 of storage (P=0.001, P=0.001). Phosphatidylserine (PS) exposure significantly increased on the untreated compared with LC-treated platelets on the second and third days of storage (P=0.014, P=0.012). Also, active caspase 3 was lower in the LC- treated platelets than the control group on the day 5 of storage (P=0.004). Cytosolic cytochrome C was so significantly lower in LC-treated compared to the untreated platelets during storage time (P=0.002, P=0.001, Pday5=0.001).

Conclusion: The results of this study indicate that the use of LC as an additive solution in platelets may be useful to reduce PSL by decreasing platelet apoptosis via mitochondrial pathway and increase platelet quality during storage.