How can we use proteomics to learn more about platelets?

What is the context?Platelets are well known as cellular mediators of hemostasis and drivers of thrombosis and inflammation. Thousands of different proteins come together to make up the molecular structure of platelets and support their functions in health and disease.What is new?"Proteomics" refers to laboratory approaches that study many proteins simultaneously to provide details on proteomes and the biology of a given system of interest. Many different high-throughput biochemical methods can be considered as proteomics, including mass spectrometry analysis.What is the impact?Proteomics has already identified more than 5,000 individual proteins in human platelets and provided important insights into how platelets may serve as biomarkers or therapeutic targets in human health and disease. In coming years, advances in proteomics technologies will likely help to characterize additional proteins and molecular systems in platelets to shed light on platelet-mediated mechanisms of physiology and pathology that have been largely unapproachable with other methods.