Mitochondrial dysfunction is currently acknowledged as a central
pathomechanism of most common diseases of the 21st century.
Recently, the assessment of the bioenergetic profile of human
peripheral blood cells has emerged as a novel research field with
potential applications in the development of disease biomarkers.
In particular, platelets have been successfully used for
the ex vivo analysis of mitochondrial respiratory function in
several acute and chronic pathologies. An increasing number of
studies support the idea that evaluation of the bioenergetic
function in circulating platelets may represent the peripheral
signature of mitochondrial dysfunction in metabolically active
tissues (brain, heart, liver, skeletal muscle). Accordingly,
impairment of mitochondrial respiration in peripheral platelets
might have potential clinical applicability as a diagnostic and
prognostic tool as well as a biomarker in treatment monitoring.
The aim of this minireview is to summarize current information in
the field of platelet mitochondrial dysfunction in both acute and
chronic diseases.