Platelet autophagic machinery involved in thrombosis through a novel linkage of AMPK-MTOR to sphingolipid metabolism

Basal macroautophagy/Autophagy has recently been found in anucleate platelets. Platelet Autophagy is involved in platelet activation and thrombus formation. However, the mechanism underlying Autophagy in anucleate platelets require further clarification. Our data revealed that LC3-II formation and SQSTM1/p62 degradation were noted in H₂O₂-activated human platelets, which could be blocked by 3-methyladenine and bafilomycin A₁, indicating that platelet activation may cause platelet Autophagy. AMPK phosphorylation and mTOR dephosphorylation were also detected, and block of AMPK activity by the AMPK Inhibitor dorsomorphin reversed SQSTM1 degradation and LC3-II formation. Moreover, autophagosome formation was observed through transmission electron microscopy and deconvolution microscopy. These findings suggest that platelet Autophagy was induced partly through the AMPK-MTOR pathway. In addition, increased LC3-II expression occurred only in H₂O₂-treated Atg5^f/f platelets, but not in H₂O₂-treated atg5^-/- platelets, suggesting that platelet Autophagy occurs during platelet activation. atg5^-/- platelets also exhibited a lower aggregation in response to agonists, and platelet-specific atg5^-/- mice exhibited delayed thrombus formation in mesenteric microvessles and decreased mortality rate due to pulmonary thrombosis. Notably, metabolic analysis revealed that sphingolipid metabolism is involved in platelet activation, as evidenced by observed several altered metabolites, which could be reversed by dorsomorphin. Therefore, platelet Autophagy and platelet activation are positively correlated, partly through the interconnected network of sphingolipid metabolism. In conclusion, this study for the first time demonstrated that AMPK-MTOR signaling could regulate platelet Autophagy. A novel linkage between AMPK-MTOR and sphingolipid metabolism in anucleate platelet Autophagy was also identified: platelet Autophagy and platelet activation are positively correlated.Abbreviations: 3-MA: 3-methyladenine; A.C.D.: citric acid/SOD. citrate/glucose; ADP: adenosine diphosphate; AKT: Akt serine/threonine kinase; AMPK: AMP-activated protein kinase; ANOVA: analysis of variance; ATG: autophagy-related; B4GALT/LacCS: beta-1,4-galactosyltransferase; Baf-A1: bafilomycin A₁; BECN1: beclin 1; BHT: butylate hydrooxytoluene; BSA: bovine serum albumin; DAG: diacylglycerol; ECL: enhanced chemiluminescence; EDTA: ethylenediamine tetraacetic acid; ELISA: enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay; GALC/GCDase: galactosylceramidase; GAPDH: glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase; GBA/GluSDase: glucosylceramidase beta; GPI: glycosylphosphatidylinositol; H₂O₂: hydrogen peroxide; HMDB: human metabolome database; HRP: horseradish peroxidase; IF: immunofluorescence; IgG: immunoglobulin G; KEGG: Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes; LAMP1: lysosomal associated membrane protein 1; LC-MS/MS: liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry; mAb: monoclonal antibody; MAP1LC3/LC3: microtubule associated protein 1 light chain 3; MPV: mean platelet volume; MTOR: mechanistic target of rapamycin kinase; ox-LDL: oxidized low-density lipoprotein; pAb: polyclonal antibody; PC: phosphatidylcholine; PCR: polymerase chain reaction; PI3K: phosphoinositide 3-kinase; PLS-DA: partial least-squares discriminant analysis; PRP: platelet-rich plasma; Q-TOF: quadrupole-time of flight; RBC: red blood cell; ROS: reactive oxygen species; RPS6KB/p70S6K: ribosomal protein S6 kinase B; SDS: sodium dodecyl sulfate; S.E.M.: standard error of the mean; SEM: scanning electron microscopy; SGMS: sphingomyelin synthase; SM: sphingomyelin; SMPD/SMase: sphingomyelin phosphodiesterase; SQSTM1/p62: sequestosome 1; TEM: transmission electron microscopy; UGT8/CGT: UDP Glycosyltransferase 8; UGCG/GCS: UDP-glucose ceramide glucosyltransferase; ULK1: unc-51 like Autophagy activating kinase 1; UPLC: ultra-performance liquid chromatography; PIK3C3/VPS34: phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase catalytic subunit type 3; PtdIns3P: phosphatidylinositol-3-phosphate; WBC: white blood cell; WT: wild type.