Figure 1.

Alterations in the megakaryocyte transcriptome and proteome may be passed on to newly developing platelets. The overarching theme depicted in this schematic is that physiological stimuli, diseases, and differences in racial background may alter the portfolio of RNAs and proteins in megakaryocytes. Megakaryocytes may then invest newly developing platelets with an altered set of RNAs (eg, transcriptome) and proteins (eg, proteome) that influences cellular functions and host responses. The accompanying Table 1 in the article lists some examples of settings where the platelet transcriptome and proteome are altered. Of note, many studies referenced in the text interrogated changes in the platelet proteome for a limited subset of genes, rather than performing global analyses of the proteome.