Researchers Solve ’Bloodcurdling’ Mystery

Cambridge, Mass. June 4, 2009 - By applying cutting-edge techniques in single-molecule manipulation, researchers at Harvard University have uncovered a fundamental feedback mechanism that the body uses to regulate the clotting of blood. The finding, which could lead to a new physical, quantitative, and predictive model of how the body works to respond to injury, has implications for the treatment of bleeding disorders. A team, co-led by Timothy A. Springer, Latham Family Professor of Pathology at Harvard Medical School and Children's Hospital Boston, and Wesley P. Wong, Rowland Junior Fellow and a Principal Investigator at the Rowland Institute at Harvard, reported its discovery about the molecular basis for the feedback loop responsible for hemostasis in the June 5th issue of Science. "The human body has an incredible ability to heal from life's scrapes and bruises," explains Wong. "A central aspect of this response to damage is the ability to bring bleeding to end, a process known as hemostasis. Yet regulating hemostasis is a complex balancing act." Too much hemostatic activity can lead to an excess of blood clots, resulting in a potentially deadly condition known as thrombosis.