A cell skeleton that makes platelets sticky

Regulation of platelet actin nodules and their role in thrombus stability

Dr Steven Thomas and his colleagues at the University of Birmingham are studying platelets, the small cells in the blood that respond to blood vessel damage by sticking to the vessel wall and to each other to form a blood clot and stop bleeding. But blood clots can also form inside diseased blood vessels (thrombosis), and these clots can lead to life-threatening diseases such as heart attacks and strokes. The platelet has a ‘cell skeleton’ which helps to make it sticky and form a clot properly. Dr Thomas has already identified how the cell skeleton is organised to do this job. In this project, he will study how this process is controlled. He will use state-of-the-art microscope techniques to watch the platelets become sticky in real time. This will enable him to work out how the cell skeleton changes as platelets stick together and how this helps to keep the growing blood clot stable. By understanding how the cell skeleton is involved in platelet sticking during blood clot formation, this research could reveal better ways to design treatments to help treat ‘bad’ blood clots but leave the ‘good’ clots unaffected.