Bacteria shown to cause blood clots

U.S. and French scientists have found bacteria can directly cause human blood and plasma to clot in a process thought lost during vertebrate evolution.

The discovery by scientists at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, University of Chicago, the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases and the Pasteur Institute in Paris is said to improve researchers' understanding of coagulation during bacterial infections and might lead to new methods of treating such medical conditions as sepsis and anthrax.

Our research demonstrates coagulation can be controlled by changing the spatial distribution, or clustering, of bacteria, said study co-author Christian Kastrup of MIT. Therefore, considering the location of bacterial cells instead of just their presence or absence and their total numbers, could significantly change our understanding of coagulation.

Their study is presented online in the journal Nature Chemical Biology.

(UPI)

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