The discovery of blood clots could pave the way for the treatment of blood diseases

Scientists have discovered new ways for the body to regulate the formation of blood clots. A discovery that could one day lead to the development of better treatments to prevent and treat diseases such as heart disease, stroke and vascular dementia.

Led by the University of Exeter and funded by the British Heart Foundation, the team has developed a new technique that allows them to simultaneously measure blood clotting and free radical formation.

Free radicals are unstable molecules containing unpaired single electrons that seek to pair. This makes these molecules very reactive and able to modify proteins, lipids and DNA. Among other adverse effects, free radicals play a role in the formation of blood clots, which in turn are considered a key factor in the development of a range of diseases, including heart disease, stroke, dementia and inflammation. like arthritis.

The new technique is described in the research published in Haematologica. This technique combines electron paramagnetic resonance, a state-of-the-art method for the detection of free radicals, with blood cell aggregometry, a proven technique for measuring blood clotting. The team has successfully used this technique in mice and in human cells. They aim to better understand the functioning of blood cells, which will help to develop new drugs against blood clotting diseases or to test the risk of coagulation diseases in patients.

Dr. Giordano Pula, of the Faculty of Medicine at Exeter University, led the study. "We are really excited to discover this new technique and its potential to understand the development of blood vessel diseases.For the first time, we can now simultaneously measure blood clotting and free radical formation. they play a key role in the damage to blood vessels caused by aging, diabetes, obesity and chronic inflammation We are currently using this technique to develop a new treatment to protect blood vessels in blood vessels. diseases such as heart disease, stroke, obesity and vascular dementia. "

The team of researchers, made up of collaborators from Professor Patrick Pagano's laboratory at the University of Pittsburgh (USA), discovered that NADPH oxidase enzymes are of paramount importance for the production of free radicals, the stimulation of blood coagulation and promotion of blood vessels. damage in patients.

Professor Jeremy Pearson, Associate Medical Director at the British Heart Foundation, said: "With funding from BHF, Dr. Pula has developed an improved method to study part of the blood clotting process, which puts the blood into the blood. focus on how platelets from blood samples agglutinate.

"This method could be useful for future studies of new antiplatelet therapies for diseases, such as diabetes, in which coagulation is disrupted and increases the risk of heart attack or stroke."

The full article titled "A new combinatorial technique of simultaneous quantification of oxygen radicals and aggregation reveals unexpected redox patterns in platelet activation by different pathophysiological stimuli."

Provided by
University of Exeter