An in vitro mechanical injury bleeding model has been developed that will facilitate the study of several unresolved hematological issues, including the effect of anti-platelet agents on clot contraction and hemostatic plug formation. A description of the system was published earlier this week by Emory Health Sciences researchers in Nature Communications.
"Current methods to study blood clotting require isolation of each of these components [damaged blood vessel, platelets, blood clotting proteins that form a net-like mesh, and the flow of the blood itself], which prevents us from seeing the big picture of what's going with the patient's blood clotting system," says lead author Wilbur Lam, assistant professor at Emory University School of Medicine.
The newly developed system is the first to reproduce all the aspects of blood vessel injury seen in the microvasculature: blood loss due to trauma, clot formation by whole blood, and repair of the blood vessel lining, according to Lam. Previous models might only simulate clot formation, for example. The model does not include smooth muscle and does not reproduce aspects of larger blood vessels, however.
The system consists of a layer of human endothelial cells, which line blood vessels, cultured on top of a pneumatic valve. The "wound" is created by activating a pneumatic valve, opening what Lam calls a trap door. Donated human blood flows through the wound, which is about 130 micrometers across.
The system responds to manipulation by drugs and other alterations that reproduce clotting disorders and the developers hope it can be used to aid in drug discovery and potentially as a diagnostic tool.