A human ex vivo model of haemostasis: A replacement for rodent tail bleeding assays

Why did we fund this project?

This award aims to replace rodent tail bleeding assays by developing a human ex vivo model of haemostasis.

Haemostasis is the tightly regulated process of blood clotting to prevent life threatening bleeding or clotting and involves the blood vessel wall, cells in the blood and proteins circulating in the plasma. Research largely relies on the rodent tail bleeding assay, in which the tail is amputated and the time to stop bleeding is measured. These experiments are highly variable meaning large numbers of rodents (10 to 20 per experimental group) are required to obtain reproducible data. Dr Sarah Jones aims to develop an alternative haemostasis model using human placentas donated after birth. The placenta will be perfused with human blood and punctured with a needle, mimicking blood clot formation in a human blood vessel. In addition to measuring bleeding time, high resolution microscopy will be used to visualise clot structure, composition and morphology. This will allow Sarah to investigate the regulation of blood clotting in human tissue at a cellular and molecular level for the first time. Sarah also aims to develop cold storage and cyropreservation methods for placental tissue to allow more researchers to take up this model.

This award was made as part of the BBSRC/NC3Rs joint call for the development of next generation non-animal technologies (NATs).