A new grant, awarded by NC3Rs and British Heart Foundation (BHF) to scientists at Manchester Metropolitan will develop a new way of studying the formation of dangerous blood clots.

Heart and circulatory disease, also known as cardiovascular disease (CVD) is the leading cause of death globally and responsible for more than 1 in 4 deaths in the UK, often wreaking devastation on the lives of patients and their families. This project, led by Dr Sarah Jones, Senior Lecturer at Manchester Metropolitan’s School of Healthcare Science, will focus specifically on developing a new experimental model to study the causes of heart attacks and strokes, two of the most common cardiovascular conditions.

Heart attacks and strokes commonly arise when important blood vessels in the body become clogged with a fatty substance known as atherosclerotic plaque. This can cause the arteries to harden and narrow. Disruption of these plaques can trigger the formation of a blood clot, blocking up the artery and starving the tissue of oxygen and nutrients. This process is called “atherothrombosis”.

In previous projects looking at blood clots in arteries, researchers have focused on looking at the blood vessels of animals such as mice and rats, however there are significant differences between how the condition presents in different species. Dr Jones and her team at Manchester Metropolitan will attempt to develop a model in the laboratory, without the use of animals, which more accurately represents this disease in humans.

Dr Jones explains: “Blood clots form when there is damage to the blood vessel wall, which happens when fatty plaques break open, or the surface of the blood vessel wall detaches, exposing blood to the ‘sticky’ proteins, which lie beneath. In this study we will develop materials to recreate these sticky surfaces, and we will cover them with endothelial cells – the cells that line the blood vessels. We will then damage the endothelial cells to trigger blood clot formation simulating atherothrombosis. This will enable us to improve our understanding of how blood clots that cause heart attacks and strokes develop, as well as testing out new drugs to treat patients.”

“The model will use human blood, human endothelial cells and will take into account forces such as blood flow and heart rate that are found in human coronary arteries. This should mean that the model is much more relevant, and will allow us to more accurately investigate how blood clots form in patients having a heart attack.”

“This approach is not only important in terms of giving us the best method with which to understand the clots and what causes them, but also in relation to efforts that are going on across the sector to reduce and refine the use of animals in cardiovascular research.”

BHF Senior Research Advisor Noel Faherty says: “We are pleased to be supporting this project which will create a more accurate and meaningful way of investigating the cause of dangerous blood clots in the arteries. We hope this work will lead to the development of anti-thrombotic drugs which are more effective and more targeted to patients’ needs.

“At the BHF we ensure we only fund animal research when absolutely necessary and we actively encourage our funded researchers to plan their studies so fewer animals are needed and to look for other possible research methods. This study is a great example of researchers looking beyond animal models to improve their methodology and to generate stronger scientific results.”

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