Scientists design "lure pads" that reduce the risk of blood clots

There are already a number of antiplatelet drugs on the market, but their effects are not easily reversible, which means that patients are at risk of uncontrolled bleeding in the event of injury. And if they have to undergo surgery, they have to stop treatment until a week before their operation, which increases their risk of developing blood clots. Researchers at Harvard University have developed a reversible, drug-free antiplatelet therapy that uses deactivated platelets, which can be initiated and reversed immediately.

The lures are made from existing human platelets that have been pickled by centrifugation and detergent, while retaining the adhesive proteins on their surface. They bind to other naturally occurring cells in the blood, but are not able to trigger the clotting process because they have been disabled. Thus, when added to normal human blood, the overall coagulation process is substantially diluted, allowing normal healing processes to proceed without risk of excessive coagulation.

As Anne-Laure Papa, the first author of the journal, explains, "lures, unlike normal intact platelets, can not bind to the vessel wall and probably hinder the ability of normal platelets to bind as well." One way to imagine that lures are fast skaters who skate along the wall of an ice rink and their high speed prevents other skaters from approaching the wall, which prevents them from slowing down and to cling to her. "

The team also believes that therapy could play an important role in the treatment of tumors. Platelets are known to bind to cancer cells, protecting them from the immune system and helping them to form new tumors. But the researchers discovered that by adding decoys to normal platelets in microfluidic channels, platelets were almost completely prevented from helping cancer cells invade the cbad wall, suggesting that they could prevent the formation of new tumors. Dad says it's possible that someday these lures will be deployed during chemotherapy to prevent the spread of existing tumors or the formation of new ones.

Until now, the therapy has only been tested on rabbits and mice, but the team is confident that the results could be replicated in humans. Dad's lab is now working to ensure that lures can last longer in the blood for increased effectiveness, and study if they can be loaded with medications to help administer treatments directly to the sites. clots and tumors, or even kill tumor cells the blood circulation altogether.