Understanding the role of calcium in platelet activation and clotting

Regulation of the store-operated Ca2+ entry channel Orai1 by platelet tetraspanin Tspan18

Dr Michael Tomlinson from the University of Birmingham is particularly interested in the role of calcium in controlling platelet activity. Although platelets are vital in plugging a site of vessel injury to prevent bleeding, they can also form a clot inside a blood vessel, called thrombosis. If a clot prevents blood from reaching the heart or brain, a heart attack or stroke may occur. Keeping platelets switched off could be one way to prevent dangerous clot formation. Past research has suggested that calcium may flow into platelets to activate them. Dr Tomlinson will investigate how this happens by looking at a special channel on the platelet surface called Orai1, which can open and close. He will look at the factors that control the opening and closing of the channel; an important protein that has not been widely studied in this regard is called Tspan18. Understanding this mechanism will improve our knowledge of platelet control in the body and how it may be manipulated to develop new heart treatments.