Seeing what protein C is all about

Protein C (ProC) is a protein involved in blood clotting and inflammation. Patients with defective ProC activity suffer from thrombotic complications, which can result in stroke and/or hypertension. There was thus a need to develop an animal model for severe ProC deficiency. This has been difficult since ProC knockout mice embryos do not survive the neonatal period and cannot be studied as adults.

In a study appearing online on 5 May in advance of the print publication of the June issue of the Journal of Clinical Investigation, Francis Castellino and colleagues from Notre Dame used a novel transgenic strategy to obtain ProC mice that expressed only 12% of the normal levels of this protein. The mice spontaneously developed thrombosis and inflammation. The results also showed that maternal ProC is required for sustaining pregnancy. This new mouse line will be useful for understanding the role of ProC in development and disease.

TITLE: Mice with a severe deficiency of Protein C display prothrombotic, proinflammatory, and compromised maternal reproductive capabilities

AUTHOR CONTACT:
Francis Castellino
University of Notre Dame, Notre Dame, Indiana, USA
Phone: (574) 631-9152; Fax: (574) 631-8017; E-mail: fcastell@nd.edu

View the PDF of this article at: https://www.the-jci.org/article.php?id=24030

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