Chromosome 12 - Von Willebrand and the clotting cascade

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Almost every process that goes on in our bodies relies on a precise cascade of events in which all of the elements must be carefully co-ordinated to bring about a desired outcome.

Blood coagulation -- the formation of blood clots -- is one of the most extensively studied of these cascades. Understanding more about the process by which blood clots form not only helps us to intervene in this process for medical benefits, but also gives an insight into the nature of several rare but significant diseases which affect bleeding.

One example of this is a disease called Von Willebrand, related to a gene of the same name on chromosome 12, where the absence of a specific biomolecule leads to problems with prolonged bleeding. In this video Dr Kevin Fong explains how this disease was discovered and how, as with patterns of cascading dominoes, if one part of the coagulation chain is interrupted then you won't get the perfect clot.

With thanks to BBSRC: http://bbsrc.ac.uk/

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