Platelet counts PLC and platelet function tests are often used to monitor and diagnose pathological conditions such as inflammation aging microbial infection and cancers Transcriptomics and proteomics

This study aimed to investigate the role of platelet protein glycosylation in cancer diagnosis and therapy. The researchers conducted proteomics and N-glycoproteomics profiling of platelets from healthy individuals, hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) patients, and metastatic liver cancer (mLC) patients. They identified and quantified a total of 3199 proteins, 347 glycoproteins, 583 glycosites, and 3419 site-specific N-glycans.

The results showed that a significant percentage of proteins and site-specific N-glycans were aberrantly expressed in liver cancer patients compared to healthy individuals. This suggests that protein glycosylation on platelets may be a more sensitive biomarker for cancer diagnosis than protein expression. Furthermore, the researchers found that only a small number of proteins and N-glycans showed differential expression between HCC and mLC patients.

The analysis of glycan types revealed that oligomannose type N-glycopeptides tended to increase in liver cancer patients, while complex/hybrid type N-glycopeptides, especially sialylation type, tended to decrease. This suggests that specific glycan types may be associated with liver cancer.

Integrative omics analysis and functional analysis identified disease signatures related to altered protein expression and N-glycosylation in the complement and coagulation cascades pathway. This indicates that platelet protein N-glycosylation aberrations may play a role in cancer pathogenesis.

Overall, this study highlights the importance of platelet protein N-glycosylation in cancer diagnosis and therapy. The findings provide new insights into platelet-based approaches for cancer diagnosis and treatment