HITting the specifics of my Project
This week I wanted to provide some background on the disease our lab studies, Heparin Induced Thrombocytopenia (HIT), and give the details of my project. HIT is an immune response to the anti-coagulant Heparin, causing thrombocytopenia or a decrease in platelet count. Heparin is the most common blood thinner on the market and causes this reaction in 1 to 3 percent of patients. This immune response causes platelet factor four (PF4) to bind to heparin, which forms blood clots. The antigen, the PF4- heparin complex, causes the formation of IgG antibodies. The IgG antibodies bind to the PF4-heparin complexes through Fc receptors, which activate the platelets. The activated platelets release prothomotic platelet microparticles, inducing coagulation.
In this study, we created a mice model to represent the conditions of HIT. We injected the mice with the antigen (PF4-heparin complex) and tested to see if an immune response occurred, indicated by an increase in antibody (Ab) levels. We used a Standard Enzyme-Linked ImmunoSorbent Assay (Elisa) to test the presence of antibody in the injected mice’s plasma. Previously, Dr. Arepally’s lab made impure platelet factor four and injected the mice with heparin and PF4 and received an immune response. Scientists at the University of North Carolina have developed a purified version of PF4. We aim to test to see whether the UNC PF4 will produce a similar immune response, whether the immune response is dose dependent on the amount of PF4 injected into the mice and whether the immune response is due to the buffer used to dilute the antigen, HBSS.
