Does a protein called Syk offer hope for new anti-clotting drugs?

The regulation and role of Syk phosphorylation by platelet glycoprotein receptors

Supervised by BHF Professor Stephen Watson, a PhD student is working to understand if a protein called Syk could help to prevent blood clotting. Platelets are small cells in the blood which clump together at sites of injury to prevent blood loss – if they block diseased blood vessels in the heart or brain, this can cause heart attacks or strokes. People at risk are given anti-clotting drugs such as aspirin, but this can cause excessive bleeding. We need new drugs which prevent dangerous blood clots without the risks. Professor Watson’s team has discovered that a platelet protein called Syk is important in triggering platelet activation and clumping. Syk is controlled by chemical changes known as phosphorylation – sometimes this can boost Syk activity, but it can also block it. The student will identify what happens to Syk activity after phosphorylation and how this affects platelet clumping, and therefore clotting. This research could identify new ways to target inappropriate platelet activation without causing bleeding. Several Syk inhibitors are in clinical trials for inflammatory disease and cancer and so could be quickly tested for their potential to become new anti-platelet drugs.