Ex-vivo enhancement of platelet function during blood processing
AssigneeSpark Biomedical, Inc.
InventorsAlejandro Covalin, Navid Khodaparast
Life of this patent
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Abstract
In an illustrative embodiment, enhancing platelet function ex-vivo includes treating blood (e.g., whole blood or separated platelets) extracted from a subject with calcium ions and one or more reagents, each reagent configured to activate at least one transmembrane Ca2+ channel, such that the combined calcium ions and reagent(s) cause a portion of platelets within the blood to undergo enhancement via activation of the transmembrane Ca2+ channel(s), thereby producing a population of enhanced platelets within the blood having increased Ca2+ for enhanced coagulation capability. The blood may be returned to the subject or stored for later use.
Claims25
A method for enhancing platelet function ex-vivo, the method comprising:
- obtaining a volume of whole blood extracted from a subject;
- treating at least a portion of the volume of whole blood with calcium ions and one or more reagents, each reagent configured to activate at least one transmembrane Ca2+ channel of one or more transmembrane Ca2+ channels, wherein
- the calcium ions and one or more reagents, in combination, are configured to cause a portion of platelets within the volume of whole blood to undergo enhancement via activation of the one or more transmembrane Ca2+ channels, thereby producing a population of enhanced platelets within the volume of whole blood having increased Ca2+ for enhanced coagulation capability,
- the at least one transmembrane Ca2+ channel comprises a α7-Nicotinic Acetylcholine Receptor (α7-nAChR), and
- the one or more reagents comprises an α7-nAChR agonist;
- and
- after treating the at least the portion of the volume of whole blood,
- incubating the at least the portion of the volume of whole blood within a predetermined temperature range, and
- preparing the at least the portion of the volume of whole blood for storage and transferring to one or more storage compartments as one or more blood or blood component units,
- wherein a portion of platelets within the at least the portion of the whole blood, during the incubating, undergo the enhancement via activation of the one or more transmembrane Ca2+ channels, thereby producing a population of enhanced platelets within the at least the portion of the volume of whole blood having increased Ca2+ for enhanced coagulation capability.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.