Studying the role of zinc in blood clotting

Characterisation of zinc-dependent heparin neutralisation by fibrinogen and histidine-rich glycoprotein (Ms Amelie Sobczak)

Supervised by Dr Alan Stewart, the PhD student on this project is studying how zinc is involved in blood clot formation and if zinc is important for why some heparin-based drugs do not work. There is a lot of evidence linking zinc to blood clotting. Zinc is released from cells called platelets that control blood clotting, and scientists have found unwanted blood clots can form when zinc levels in the blood are faulty. Also, histidine-rich glycoprotein (HRG) and fibrinogen, which are proteins in the blood that stop the action of natural anti-clotting factors called heparins, depend on zinc to work. Heparin molecules vary in size. Short sized heparin-based drugs are currently used to treat problems with clotting. These are more effective than other types of heparin, but we don’t currently understand why. Dr Stewart has found that zinc affects the ability of HRG to prevent different types of heparin from working. But less is known about how zinc controls fibrinogen. In this project, the PhD student will establish how effectively HRG and fibrinogen stop heparins from working at amounts of zinc found in healthy people and people with heart disease. This work is enhancing our knowledge of how zinc controls blood clot formation and may explain why some heparin-based drugs are not effective at treating blood clots.