A research team, comprised of scientists from Sweden, Germany and Canada, have published a paper profiling the changes in gene expression from stored platelets that had been subjected to various pathogen reduction methods using the Ion AmpliSeq™ Transcriptome Solution and the Ion Proton™ System.
First, some background on the use of pathogen reduction in platelet preparation. Platelet concentrates are prepared at blood banks and stored for a few days until needed for transfusion. Two things need to occur to make the best use of these concentrates: (1) an increase in the shelf-life of the platelet concentrates samples is desirable and (2) a reduction in the number of transfusion-associated infections is critical.
Various methods of pathogen reduction are commonly used and this study by Osman, et al (2015) evaluated the effect of four conditions compared to a control group. Significant changes in the gene expression profiles of the five groups were evaluated, along with miRNA-mRNA correlations. Their findings indicate that “…development of approaches targeting pathogens more specifically, while sparing platelet nucleic acids level and function, would be highly desirable…”.
To learn more about their discoveries, you can access the full article here. And find out how Ion AmpliSeq Transcriptome Solution can transform your research study by profiling over 20,000 genes in less than 2 days, using as little as 100 pg of high-quality RNA or 10 ng of FFPE RNA.
For Research Use Only. Not for use in diagnostic procedures.
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