Heart attack gene, MRP-14, triggers blood clot formation

Heart attack gene, MRP-14, triggers blood clot formation

Matthew He
5/18/14

Author: Case Western Reserve UniversityLink: http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2014/04/140401172910.htm

Summary: 
Scientists at Case Western Reserve School of Medicine and University Hospitals Case Medical Center have studied humans and mice and discovered how MRP-14 (myeloid related protein-14 ) generates dangerous clots that could trigger heart attack or stroke, and what happens by manipulating MRP-14. A whole new pathway was discovered that shows clotting platelets have MRP-14 inside them, that platelets secrete MRP-14 and that MRP-14 binds to a platelet receptor called CD36 to activate platelets. In detailed studies using MRP-14-deficient mice, the investigators discovered MRP-14 in action. A key fact is that, while MRP-14 is required for pathological blood clotting (Heart disease), it does not appear to be involved in the natural response to prevent bleeding. This is potentially groundbreaking because if a drug could be developed that stops pathological clotting without interfering with the body's natural clotting to heal cuts, you would have a safer medication to treat clotting for heart attack or stroke.

Impact: 
This article connects to the circulatory system, and in particular, pathological clotting. Pathological clotting is a major part of Atherosclerosis, and Myocardial Infarction. In the current class unit, we learned that the circulatory system's imbalances are often clot related, as clotting blocks the circulatory system's function of bringing oxygen and nutrients to cells. In addition, we learned about natural clotting with platelets and fibrin. This connects to pathology of the circulatory system because it identifies a specific gene that is involved with pathological clotting, showing that heart disease has genetic factors in it.