Muscle protein abundant in the heart plays key role in blood clotting during heart attack The surprise finding from a Scripps Research team reveals a potential new approach for treating cardiovascular diseases.
April 02, 2020
LA JOLLA, CA A prevalent heart protein known as cardiac myosin, which is released into the body when a person suffers a heart attack, can cause blood to thicken or clot worsening damage to heart tissue, a new study shows.
A team led by John H. Griffin, PhD, a professor in the Department of Molecular Medicine at Scripps Research, made the unexpected finding after a series of experiments spanning three years and involving researchers from multiple collaborating institutions.
Though blood clotting is the root cause of many life-threatening cardiac events, including heart attack and stroke, scientists didn't know until now that cardiac myosin was implicated in that process. The protein's primary job is to provide the muscle-motor action that pumps blood.
The real breakthrough of this study is that we've discovered another major biologic activity of cardiac myosin. No one had suspected it was acting as a procoagulant factor, Griffin says. Our findings bridge research in hematology and cardiology, showing there's another potentially very important factor influencing the health outcomes of people with cardiac disease.
Blood coagulation is essential to prevent bleeding after an injury. The most abundant procoagulant protein in the human body is collagen, but it's not usually exposed to blood. Upon blood vessel and tissue damage, many procoagulant factors, including collagens, cause blood to turn from a liquid into a gel, forming a blood clot and reducing blood loss. However, procoagulants must strike the right balance between stopping bleeding and preventing excessive clotting, as occurs in conditions such as deep vein thrombosis or when a blood clot causes a stoke.
Just as with inflammation, a little coagulation is good, but too much is dangerous, Griffin says. While a small amount of cardiac myosin might help reduce bleeding in the heart, an excess of the protein may worsen the injury by promoting blood clots that cut off oxygen and exacerbate damage to heart tissue.
Indeed, Griffin and his collaborators, including Tobias Eckle, MD, PhD, of the University of Colorado, found that excess cardiac myosin doubled heart damage when administered to mice who experienced controlled heart attacks.
The study appears in the April 2020 issue of the American Heart Association journal Arteriosclerosis, Thrombosis, and Vascular Biology.
Griffin and his team are now working with scientists at Calibr, the drug discovery and development division of Scripps Research, to create a therapeutic compound that would target the procoagulant activity of cardiac myosin, reducing tissue damage caused by a heart attack.
Anticoagulant drugs already exist, ranging from over-the-counter medications like aspirin to widely prescribed drugs such as coumadin and warfarin. A newer class of drugs, known as direct oral anticoagulants (commonly referred to as DOACs), also have emerged to address the great need for blood clotting medications. But many of these existing drugs can cause excessive bleeding or other side effects because they act on the entire body's coagulation system, not just blood clotting in the heart.
Griffin envisions an anticoagulant medicine that targets only cardiac myosin-driven coagulation. Such a drug could theoretically be administered to patients in the hospital immediately after an acute cardiac event.
Cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of death for men, women and people of most racial and ethnic groups in the United States, Griffin says. New and better medicines are needed for those at risk of disease, and cardiac myosin gives us a promising avenue to pursue.
Authors of the study, Cardiac Myosin Promotes Thrombin Generation and Coagulation In Vitro and In Vivo, include Jevgenia Zilberman-Rudenko, Hiroshi Deguchi, Meenal Shukla, Yoshimasa Oyama, Jennifer N. Orje, Zihan Guo, Tine Wyseure, Laurent O. Mosnier, Owen J.T. McCarty, Zaverio M. Ruggeri, Tobias Eckle and John H. Griffin.
The work was supported by the American Heart Association and multiple grants from the National Institutes of Health.
Heart Disease Griffin, John
North America Stories
03/01/2026
A still from OBEX by Albert Birney, an official selection of the 2025 Sundance...
02/01/2026
Freezing Florida: NHL's EVP, Entertainment Bob Chesterman on Taking the Wint...
02/01/2026
NHL Winter Classic 2026: TNT Sports Prepares for First NHL Outdoor Game in Sunsh...
02/01/2026
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
02/01/2026
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
01/01/2026
Latin Grammy Cultural Foundation Announces 2026 Noel Schajris Scholarship The scholarship will cover tuition and housing for one Berklee College of Music stud...
01/01/2026
New year, new games, all with RTX 5080-powered cloud energy. GeForce NOW is kicking off 2026 by looking back at an unforgettable year of wins and wildly high fr...
31/12/2025
Back to All News
NFL Christmas Gameday on Netflix Scores Again With the Lions-V...
30/12/2025
As the College Football Playoff Enters the Quarterfinals, ESPN Blows Out Its Meg...
30/12/2025
SVG's Best of 2025: Original ArticlesTake a look back at all our coverage of big-time productions, game-changing technologies, and state-of-the-art new faci...
30/12/2025
MELBOURNE, Fla., Dec. 30, 2025 - L3Harris Technologies (NYSE: LHX) will release its fourth quarter 2025 financial results before the market opens on Thursday, J...
30/12/2025
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
29/12/2025
San Francisco 49ers Strike Gold With Halftime Laser SpectacularStunning display caps $200 million renovation of Levi's Stadium techBy Dan Daley, Audio Edito...
29/12/2025
The Cup's Around the Corner: An Inside Look at Broadcast Preparations for th...
29/12/2025
SVG's Best of 2025: Longform VideoWatch the standout keynote conversations, deep dives, and panel discussions from the year for free on SVG PLAY!By Brandon ...
29/12/2025
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
27/12/2025
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
26/12/2025
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
26/12/2025
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
25/12/2025
Holiday lights are twinkling, hot cocoa's on the stove and gamers are settling in for a well-earned break.
Whether staying in or heading on a winter getawa...
24/12/2025
What is AI good for? Posted by MTI Film on December 24, 2025
What is AI good for?
What is AI good for?
It's been three years since ChatGPT first cap...
24/12/2025
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
24/12/2025
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
24/12/2025
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
24/12/2025
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
24/12/2025
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
24/12/2025
Back to All News
The Boyfriend' Season 2 Unveils Heartwarming Trailer, Key...
24/12/2025
Back to All News
Love, Fights, and Everything in Between: Badly in Love' Returns for Season 2
Entertainment
24 December 2025
GlobalJapan
Link copied t...
24/12/2025
Scripps Research study links sleep variability with sleep apnea and hypertension How consumers' digital activity trackers could enable personalized health s...
23/12/2025
How guilas Cibae as Dominican Winter League Games Are Locally Produced for Glob...
23/12/2025
BitFire's Jim Akimchuk on Supplying Scalability and Customization in the Clo...
23/12/2025
CAMB.AI Enables European Athletics to Offer Multi-Language SupportPlan is to eventually offer translation into all languages spoken in EuropeBy Ken Kerschbaumer...
23/12/2025
Analysis: As sports media values trend negative, scarcity and quality are king By Callum McCarthy, Editor-at-Large
Monday, December 22, 2025 - 14:08
Print ...
23/12/2025
ESPN, Disney, and NBA Return to the Animated Altcast Fray With Second Edition of...
23/12/2025
End the Year on a High Note and Donate to the Sports Broadcasting Fund Today!By Ken Kerschbaumer, Editorial Director
Tuesday, December 23, 2025 - 12:25 pm
P...
23/12/2025
A Zeus motor is hot fire tested at L3Harris' Camden, Arkansas, solid rocket ...
23/12/2025
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
23/12/2025
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
23/12/2025
Lightware will exhibit several major product innovations at ISE 2026, including the new USB-C BOOSTER-V1, Google Meet. integration for various Taurus UCX models...
23/12/2025
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
23/12/2025
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
23/12/2025
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
23/12/2025
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
23/12/2025
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
23/12/2025
Taking the Stage at Carnegie Hall-On a Global Scale Boston Conservatory Orchestra students reflect on their epic concert marking the 80th session of the UN Gene...
23/12/2025
Back to All News
Netflix's The Great Flood and Culinary Class Wars 2 Top Gl...
23/12/2025
Back to All News
Stranger Things By the Numbers: How the Global Phenomenon Shap...
23/12/2025
Experience the power of WO Automation for Radio's newest service, the System Effectiveness Review. Designed to help you achieve more, a System Effectiveness...
23/12/2025
Back to All News
How Steamy Can It Get? Single's Inferno' Season 5 Pre...
Muscle protein abundant in the heart plays key role in blood clotting during heart attack The surprise finding from a Scripps Research team reveals a potential new approach for treating cardiovascular diseases.
