'Missing link' in blood clotting mechanism that wreaks havoc on the small blood vessels of major organs

Embargoed until: Publicly released: 2025-06-06 12:18

Australia; International; NSW; VIC; QLD

Image by allinonemovie from Pixabay

Australian scientists have uncovered the 'missing link' in the way the small blood vessels in the body can become blocked in many conditions, including heart attacks, stroke, sepsis and severe COVID-19. The researchers looked at tissue samples from people who had severe COVID-19 and found that damage to the inner lining of blood vessels, known as the endothelium, causes the destruction of red blood cells, and those dead red blood cells then act like a glue sticking more cells together which blocks small blood vessels in vital organs such as the brain, lungs and kidneys. An accompanying comment article says the potential clinical implications of this work are extensive, and it could lead to great strides in the treatment of several life-threatening conditions.

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Research Springer Nature, Web page Please link to the article in online versions of your report

Media Release ThromBio, Web page

Journal/
conference: Nature

Research:Paper

Organisation/s: The University of Sydney, The University of Queensland, Baker Heart and Diabetes Institute, WEHI, The University of Melbourne, The Heart Research Institute, ThromBio

Funder: This work is supported by the National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) (APP1176016 (S.P.J.) and 1183806 (A.F.S.)), the NSW Office of Health and Medical Research (OHMR) (S.P.J. and S.M.S.) and the Myee Codrington Medical Research Foundation (A.F.S.).

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