Megakaryocyte- and Platelet-Derived Microparticles as Novel Diagnostic and Prognostic Biomarkers for Immune Thrombocytopenia

Altered cell-derived microparticles (MPs) have been reported in multiple autoimmune diseases. However, the roles of megakaryocyte- and platelet-derived MPs (MKMPs and PMPs) in immune thrombocytopenia (ITP) have not been investigated. In this study, we examined plasma MKMP and PMP levels in patients with ITP and evaluated their potential diagnostic values. Plasma MKMP and PMP levels were analyzed by flow cytometry in a discovery set of ITP patients (n = 78), non-immune thrombocytopenia (TP) patients (n = 69), and age- and gender-matched healthy controls (n = 88). Samples from a therapy set of ITP patients (n = 21) were used to assess the response to thrombopoietin receptor agonist (TPO-RA) treatment. Spearman correlation analysis was performed between MP levels and disease parameters. Receiver operator characteristic (ROC) curves were generated to evaluate the diagnostic values of the MPs. We found that plasma MKMP and PMP levels were significantly lower in ITP patients than those in healthy controls (p values < 0.0001) but higher than in those in TP patients (p < 0.002 and p < 0.0002, respectively). After normalization to platelet counts, PMP/Platelet ratios in ITP patients were higher than those in TP patients and healthy controls (p values < 0.001). PMP/Platelet ratios had a diagnostic value for ITP (area under the curve = 0.808, p < 0.0001) with 73.1% sensitivity and 77.3% specificity. MKMP levels can be used to discriminate ITP from TP with a cut-off value of 112.5 MPs/μL and a sensitivity of 74.4%. Moreover, both MKMP and PMP levels were elevated in ITP patients who responded to TPO-RA treatment. Plasma PMP levels positively correlated with platelet counts in the responders (r = 0.558, p < 0.01). Our results indicate that plasma MKMP and PMP levels are decreased in ITP patients and that plasma MKMP and PMP levels may serve as biomarkers for ITP diagnosis and prediction of TPO-RA treatment response.