Swedish researchers hope HDAC inhibitors can wipe out blood clots

Swedish researchers believe that HDAC inhibitors, substances common to some cancer and epilepsy drugs, may also be used to help prevent heart attacks.

HDAC inhibitors are used to treat cancer because HDAC proteins regulate how DNA behaves, and cancer can make HDAC proteins turn off genes that keep tumors from forming and spreading. But scientists at the Sahlgrenska Academy at the University of Gothenburg in Sweden believe that HDAC inhibitors can also help prevent blood clots through stimulating production of a special enzyme. To accomplish this, they used HDAC inhibitors on cultured cells from blood vessel walls. The compound stimulated a significant increase in the cells' production of a clot-dissolving enzyme that the body typically produces and stores for use.

The finding matters because the body's fibrinolytic system, when it works, uses the clot-dissolving enzyme to break down clots before they block blood vessels, the researchers explain. But large stores of the enzyme are needed for process to work naturally. The enzyme levels decline in some people as they gain too much weight, smoke, or endure high blood pressure, making them vulnerable to heart attacks as clots become more likely to form.

If the HDAC inhibitor treatment also works in people, the discovery could lead to new drugs that help prevent heart attacks, the researchers said. But they caution that results from human testing may not come out the same way.

The Sahlgrenska team will find out soon enough. They envision a number of human trials in the near future to explore how HDAC inhibitors affect the clot-dissolving enzyme in the body, versus cultured cells in the laboratory.

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