Dr Nicholas Pugh

Platelets are the principal cellular determinants of haemostasis and pathological thrombus formation leading to myocardial infarction and stroke. Following adhesion to sites of vascular damage, platelets undergo primary activation leading to shape change, upregulation of integrin activity and secretion of alpha and dense granules. Granule release introduces bioactive molecules into the immediate environment of a growing thrombus. Such molecules include adhesion proteins, coagulation factors and soluble platelet agonists, such as ADP, ATP, thromboxane and zinc.  Zinc has long been known to be a regulator of haemostatic responses, influencing both coagulation and platelet aggregation.  However, the role of mechanism by which zinc influences platelets is not well understood.

My principal research aims are to examine the mechanism by which zinc acts as an extracellular and intracellular mediator of platelet behaviour.  Other interests include the analysis of platelet receptor activity in in vitro models of thrombosis.