ミクロの装置で血液凝固を再現
(C) RMIT University
傷害のある血管を模倣して作られたミクロの装置
RMIT大学の研究者らが開発した血管に似せたミクロサイズの装置が，血液凝固の新たなメカニズム発見 (Nature Medicine 15, 665 - 673, 2009) に貢献した。この装置は髪の毛と同じくらいの太さの液体が通る管からできており，傷害のある血管の血流と同じように，機械的なストレスが加わるようデザインされている。この装置を使って発見されたメカニズムは，血液の凝固を防ぐために現在使われている薬の作用と関係がないため，これらの薬が必ずしも効果を発揮しないことを説明する結果となった。心臓病や脳卒中の今後の予防・治療法の開発に大きく影響する可能性がある。（吉田素子）
The discovery is a major breakthrough(1) that will impact on the treatment and prevention(2) of heart disease(3) and stroke(4). It is published today in the prestigious(5) Nature Medicine journal.
Using the RMIT-designed(6) micro(7) device, a research team at the Australian Centre for Blood Diseases(8) at Monash University was able to prove a new link between disturbed(9) blood flow(10) and blood clotting(11), which could help explain why current anti-clotting drugs(12) remained ineffective(13).
Associate Professor(14) Arnan Mitchell said the device mimicked(15) the shape of damaged or diseased blood vessels(16), while allowing precise(17) control and monitoring of blood flow.
“The micro-fluidic(18) device we engineered(19) enabled researchers(20) to precisely replicate(21) the natural behaviour of blood as it clots(22) near the site of injury,” Associate Professor Mitchell, who created the device with student Francisco Tovar, said.
“By revealing a new connection between disturbed blood flow and blood clotting, this platform(23) has helped researchers understand why common anti-clotting drugs do not always work and gives scientists new targets for therapeutic(24) treatments.”
Blood clotting diseases affect more than half of Australia’s adult population – killing one Australian nearly every 10 minutes – but four decades of research into anti-clotting treatments has failed to make a serious impact on mortality rates(25).
The device developed by RMIT contains tiny micro-fluidic channels(26), each the width of a human hair, specially shaped to place blood under mechanical stress(27).
Researchers working at the RMIT Platform Technologies Research Institute, in collaboration with(28) Monash University, hope to develop the technology into a diagnostic(29) tool that could be used by hospitals to predict(30) excessive(31) or ineffective blood clotting in patients.
(1) 飛躍的進歩 (2) 予防 (3) 心臓病 (4) 脳卒中 (5) 権威のある (6) ～が設計した (7) 微小な
(8) 血液疾患 (9) （病変などにより）乱れた (10) 血流 (11) 血液凝固 (12) 抗凝固薬
(13) 効果がない (14) 准教授 (15) ～を模倣した (16) 血管 (17) 正確な (18) 流体の (19) 設計した
(20) 研究者 (21) ～を再現する (22) 凝固する (23) プラットフォーム (24) 治療の (25) 死亡率
(26) 管 (27) 機械的ストレス (28) ～と協力して (29) 診断用の (30) 予測する (31) 過剰な
