Discovering novel biochemical interactions between the complement and coagulation systems

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Within the circulation, there exist systems that promote healing and prevent bleeding. One of these, the so-called coagulation system, is tightly controlled to achieve a critical balance between bleeding and clotting and to maintain the flow of blood. The other, the complement system, serves to rapidly and effectively dispose of invading infections and to prevent damage to our own tissue and organs. Historically, the complex biochemical pathways featured in these two systems have been viewed as separate and non-intersecting. However, there is increasing evidence to suggest that they do interact, which makes sense since both systems are initiated by the same triggers, under the same conditions. Moreover, many components (proteins) involved in coagulation and complement share a common evolutionary origin. It is likely, therefore, that these important biochemical pathways are co-ordinately controlled and highly interactive. Indeed, preliminary data from our lab support such a hypothesis. The long-term goal of our lab is to create new knowledge by systematically examining the biochemical interactions between the coagulation and complement systems, seeking to reveal entirely new information about the different involved components, their functions and the critical links between the biochemical pathways. The findings will potentially have a huge socio-economic impact as the identification of new pathways will lead to the need for new assays to measure changes in the blood during health and disease, and to the creation of industry and biotechnology for the development of new drugs that correct disease-associated imbalances in these systems.