Investigating PI3KC2a as an anti-thrombotic target in metabolic diseases

Blood clots cause heart attacks and strokes. Diabetes and high cholesterol increase the likelihood of these events, partly because current drugs used to prevent blood clots are less effective in these patients. This thesis examined whether blocking a specific protein, PI3KC2a, prevents blood clots where there is diabetes or elevated cholesterol. The studies showed that newly developed drugs that block PI3KC2a do prevent clots in blood with high cholesterol and in blood from type II, but not type I, diabetic patients. This thesis lays the groundwork for improved therapies for heart attack and stroke prevention in patients with these diseases.