A new method of assessing patient blood by running it through a miniaturized device that mimics narrowed arteries could help doctors better understand a patient’s risk factors for developing blood clots in the arteries according to a study published in Nature by researchers at the University of Texas Medical Branch.
Arterial thrombosis, which describes the formation of disease-causing blood clots in the artery, is one of the leading causes of death and serious illness worldwide.
Researchers needed a way to see how each patient’s blood behaves when subject to physical forces at work inside narrowed arteries.
In this study, researchers added fluorescent dyes to blood samples before running them through the model. Each tested sample received a rating for seven different blood characteristics to create a unique profile for that patient. This “barcode” approach could allow a personalized care plan for each patient, according to Yunfeng Chen, assistant professor of biochemistry and molecular biology.
The test used in this study can help pinpoint additional risk factors for diseases caused by clotting.
“Arterial thrombosis is the formation of large blood clots inside the arteries,” Chen said. “The larger the thrombus, the more lethal it is. When the clot is large enough to occlude the blood vessel, then the patient will have ischemia and could lead to stroke or ischemic heart attack. Those are the most lethal events.”
Better identifying risks could enhance patient care, Chen said.
Using the testing method that mimics arterial blood flow is unique, Chen said, because it recreates the rapid blood flow happening in the narrowed arteries. The standard tests for clotting do not simulate that blood flow.
The study found that extreme mechanical force can make platelets more adhesive. The platelets then stick to the artery, causing further narrowing.
“Size is not the only important information you should derive,” Chen said. “That's why we use seven different readouts to more comprehensively characterize what is really going on inside the thrombus. We're looking at both the size development, the composition and the activation status of the thrombus all at the same time. This should give us a very comprehensive understanding of what is really going on inside when the patient is developing thrombus inside their arteries.”
Authors of the study are Misbahund Din, Souvik Paul, Sana Ullah, Rong-Guang Xu, Bari Chowdhury, Stephanie Rogers, Mariel Miller, Atreyee Biswas, Christopher Zahner, Yunfeng Chen and Megan Berman of The University of Texas Medical Branch; Haoyi Yang and Lingzhou Xue of The Pennsylvania State University; Rong-Guang Xu and Zi Chen of Harvard Medical School; Nurul Aisha Zainal Abidin, Allan Sun, Yiyao Catherine Chen, Rui Gao and Lining Arnold Ju of the University of Sydney; Fangyuan Zhou of the Georgia Institute of Technology; Liang Hu of Shanghai University of Traditional Chinese Medicine; Zhichao Fan of UConn Health; and Jing Fan of The City University of New York.