Barbara and Bruce Furie (above) and their colleagues report how three components of a thrombus (below) assemble in real time in a living animal. Click on the image to see a 60-second movie which shows a thrombus forming in a tiny vessel. Blood flow is from right to left. In response to a laser-induced injury of a normal vessel wall, red-labeled platelets and green-labeled tissue factor rush to the scene. About 20 seconds into the thrombosis, blue-labeled fibrin form and fill in the bulk of the thrombus. In the composite movie (and image below), colors overlap where the components mix: Tissue factor shows up in the turquoise, white and yellow; fibrin shows up in the turquoise, white and magenta; platelets show up in the yellow, white and magenta. Photo by Pam Murray |
New device documents clot formation in living miceResearchers have observed new details in the real-life drama of one of the most deadly events in lifeNovember 8, 2002In the October 2002 issue of the journal Nature Medicine, Bruce and Barbara Furie, both Harvard Medical School professors of medicine at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, reportrf on the timing and assembly of three components in arterial thrombosis in mice. Their findings suggest a revised model of the earliest steps of blood coagulation. Using a specialized instrument they designed, the Harvard researchers have observed new details in the real-life drama of thrombus formation, one of the most deadly events in life. To observe the live action, the researchers peeked through the paper-thin membrane of the mouse scrotum using a new system that combines high-speed digital video microscopy with spectroscopy. The system snaps more than 1,000 confocal and widefield images a minute. In this study, the instrument recorded a dynamic 60-second show. More important for the researchers, it also captured the spectroscopic data for later analysis. |
