How platelet numbers and stickiness are controlled in blood clotting

Regulation of platelet homeostasis and thrombosis by the kinase-phosphatase pair Csk-CD148

Professor Yotis Senis is studying platelets, which are the cells that help our blood to clot. Platelets are small cells that plug holes in damaged blood vessels and prevent excessive bleeding. But they can also form clots inside blood vessels (thrombosis) in the heart, brain and lungs, leading to heart attacks, stroke and sudden death. Platelets therefore need to be carefully controlled. If a person has a low platelet count or platelets that do not respond well to injury, this can result in increased bleeding. Too many sticky platelets can lead to dangerous clots forming. Current anti-platelet therapies reduce the risk of thrombosis but they don’t work for everyone and can have serious side effects. In this project, Professor Senis will study how platelet number and stickiness are controlled and how this impacts on blood clot formation. He believes that two proteins called Csk and CD148 set the threshold at which platelets become ‘reactive’ to clot formation and will perform research to prove this theory. Findings from this study, in mice and using human samples, could establish a new way in which platelets are controlled, revealing new targets for anti-clotting drugs to prevent thrombosis.