Researchers at the WashU Medicine Sah Lab in the Center for Cardiovascular Research and their collaborators have published findings that provide a proof of concept for a novel drug class to treat myocardial infarction and stroke. Rajan Sah, MD, PhD, a professor of medicine in the cardiovascular division, worked with multiple teams that collaborated to observe and describe a novel mechanoresponsive ion channel in platelets regulating platelet activation and arterial thrombosis, as well as novel small molecule drugs that target the pathway to prevent thrombosis. These findings are published in the journal Blood.
As a whole, arterial thrombotic diseases such as heart attack and stroke are the leading cause of death in the US. The drug compounds Sah and his collaborators are investigating to treat thrombosis may also have anti-diabetic activity, shares Dr. Sah. These novel pharmaceuticals “would be dual anti-thrombotic, anti-diabetic drugs, an ideal and also unique combination for a new class of cardiometabolic agents.”
WashU Medicine Labs collaborated with start-up company Sension Therapeutics, Inc, a pharmaceutical company focusing on metabolic diseases, on developing this research. This novel way to potentially treat arterial thrombosis and metabolic disorders carries promise of far-reaching public health impacts in the US as well as globally.