Cellular and extracellular processes and structures that might be pharmacological targets to inhibit blood clot contraction. The figure illustrates the basic cellular mechanism of clot contraction: an activated platelet extends a filopod containing the adhesion protein integrin αIIbβ3 in its membrane, which attaches to a fibrin fiber and pulls on it, creating a kink and thereby contracting the fibrin network and the entire clot. Dynamic cytoskeletal proteins are responsible for cycles of extension and retraction of multiple filopodia formed in a single platelet. The text inside and outside of the platelet designates the structures and processes that can be affected by the molecules identified in the screen described in the article by Buitrago et al.1 Professional illustration by somersault18:24 Studio BV.
