New Molecule Could Be Key To Anti-heart Attack Drug

Heart attacks are commonly caused by blood clots formed of blood platelets. A new research suggests that it should be possible to create a clot-busting pill that targets a receptor on the blood cells’ surface, something that high-risk patients could take at the first sign of chest pain. One of the scientists from the research team at Rockefeller University was also the czech researcher Marketa Jirouskova.

The key to such a pill is according to the research findings a receptor called αIIbβ3 on the platelets’ surface that is intimately involved in the aggregation process. Interfering with αIIbβ3 can prevent an unwanted thrombus and the three αIIbβ3 inhibitors currently on the market can do just that. But they also have side effects and risks and must be administered intravenously. Researchers at Rockefeller University have found a new molecule, called RUC-1, that not only appears to sidestep these problems but, unlike existing drugs, could be taken orally.

Selectivity of RUC-1: While other drugs bind to both halves of the αIIbβ3 platelet receptor, RUC-1 (orange and blue section, above) binds to only the αIIb portion, leaving its β3 half (indicated by the green, gray and purple spheres) untouched. Credit: Rockefeller University.

The findings were published in the journal Blood. "RUC-1 could provide advantages over the currently available inhibitors," researchers say. If someone was at very high risk for having a heart attack, he could keep the drug on hand and take it the same way doctors currently suggest using aspirin, swallowing the pill at the first sign of chest pain.

Source: http://newswire.rockefeller.edu

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