322 - Platelet Oxygen Consumption Correlates with Human Umbilical Venous Endothelial Cell Oxygen Consumption in Extremely Low Birth Weight Infants at Birth

Jegen Kandasamy, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, AL, United States; Rui Li, UAB, Birmingham, AL, United States; Kulsajan S. Bhatia, University of Alabama School of Medicine, Bimringham, AL, United States; Namasivayam Ambalavanan, University of Alabama School of Medicine, Birmingham, AL, United States

Background: Mitochondrial dysfunction may be a risk factor in the development of bronchopulmonary dysplasia (BPD) and other morbidities in extremely low birth weight (ELBW) infants. We have previously established associations between mitochondrial function in human umbilical venous endothelial cells (HUVEC) at birth and their subsequent risk for BPD. However, ongoing assessment of mitochondrial function in these infants necessitates a readily accessible biomarker. Platelets present a promising source for such evaluations due to their continued availability after the birth of these infants and their mitochondrial content.

Objective: To
a) assess the viability of platelets as a source of measuring mitochondrial function in ELBW infants and
b) evaluate the correlation between mitochondrial function in platelets and HUVEC collected at birth from ELBW infants.

Design/Methods: Platelet basal OCR and maximal OCR showed a moderately strong positive correlation with HUVEC basal and platelet OCR respectively as shown in Figure 1. Furthermore, as shown in Figure 2, only minimal correlation was observed between platelet basal and maximal OCR and GA or birth weight (BW), which indicates that these mitochondrial metrics are largely independent of developmental maturity at birth in this cohort. Additionally, as shown in Figure 3, no significant differences were observed between basal and maximal platelet OCR measured in male and female infants, indicating that mitochondrial function in platelets may not be affected by sex differences in ELBW infants.

Results: Platelet basal OCR and maximal OCR showed a moderately strong positive correlation with HUVEC basal and platelet OCR respectively as shown in Figure 1. Furthermore, as shown in Figure 2, only minimal correlation was observed between platelet basal and maximal OCR and GA or birth weight (BW), which indicates that these mitochondrial metrics are largely independent of developmental maturity at birth in this cohort. Additionally, as shown in Figure 3, no significant differences were observed between basal and maximal platelet OCR measured in male and female infants, indicating that mitochondrial function in platelets may not be affected by sex differences in ELBW infants.

Conclusion(s): Our findings support the use of platelets as a surrogate for mitochondrial function and suggest they may serve as accessible, reliable biomarkers of mitochondrial health in ELBW infants. A larger NIH-funded study is underway to explore their utility in predicting neonatal outcomes like BPD.

Correlation between HUVEC and Platelet Basal and Maximal Oxygen Consumption Rates
HUVEC_PLT_OCR.pdfBasal and maximal OCR of HUVEC correlates moderately with basal and maximal OCR of Platelets obtained from cord blood in ELBW infants at birth

Correlation between GA and BW and platelet basal and maximal OCR in ELBW infants
PLT_GA_BW.OCR.pdfBoth GA and BW correlated poorly with platelet basal as well as maximal OCR in ELBW infants

Effect of sex/gender on platelet basal and maximal OCR at birth in ELBW infants
Neither basal or maximal OCR in platelets varied significantly between male and female ELBW infants at birth