Regulating platelet thrombus formation by inhibitory co-receptors

血小板是一种特殊的粘附细胞，对正常的血液凝固至关重要。在诱导血管损伤后，血小板粘附于损伤部位并活化介导血小板扩散、聚集和稳定的血凝块形成。血小板粘附到流动血液中的血管成分上是血凝块形成的关键。我们正在研究抑制性受体的作用，调节血小板粘附在血管表面的阶段。我们有敲除小鼠，缺乏一种特定的蛋白质，血小板内皮细胞粘附分子-1（PECAM-1），我们可以用它来研究它在血凝块模型中的功能作用。我们正在开发转基因小鼠，以检查PECAM-1中导致血液凝块调节的重要结构域。从这项工作中获得的知识将有助于提高我们对影响稳定血凝块形成的调节过程的理解。这些信息与许多人类疾病有关，包括心脏病发作和中风。

Platelets are a specialised adhesive cell essential for normal blood clotting. Following induction of blood vessel injury, platelets stick to sites of injury and activation mediate platelet spreading, aggregation and stable blood clot formation. Platelet adhesion to components of the blood vessel in flowing blood is central to blood clot formation. We are studying the role of inhibitory receptors that regulate the platelet adhesion phase on the blood vessel surface. We have knockout mice that lack a specific protein, Platelet Endothelial Cell Adhesion Molecule-1 (PECAM-1) that we can use to study its functional role in blood clot models. We are developing transgenic mice to examine the important structural domains in PECAM-1 that lead to regulation of blood clots. The knowledge gained from this work will help to improve our understanding of the regulatory processes which influence the formation of a stable blood clot. This information is relevant to many human diseases including heart attack and stroke.