Thrombosis is considered to be a multifactorial disease in which both genetic and acquired risk factors are involved to cause disease. Over the past years epidemiological studies have revealed a... Show moreThrombosis is considered to be a multifactorial disease in which both genetic and acquired risk factors are involved to cause disease. Over the past years epidemiological studies have revealed a number of acquired risk factors that increase the risk of venous thrombosis. Some acquired risk factors of venous thrombosis are associated with a hypercoagulable state, which may be to a certain extent dependent on the dysregulation of gene expression in the liver, as the liver is the major organ that produces coagulation factors. Coagulation gene transcription can be modulated at different levels through hepatic transcription factors, co-regulatory or intermediate proteins, however, the exact contribution of these modulators to coagulation gene transcription is largely unknown. We aimed to study the mechanisms by which hepatic coagulation gene transcription is regulated, in order to increase our understanding of how thrombotic risks conditions coincide with hypercoagulable state. RNA interference (via synthetic small interfering RNA; siRNA) was used as a tool to study genes involved in coagulation and coagulation control in mice. Studies described in this dissertation may contribute to a better understanding of which genes are involved in coagulation (control) and how thrombotic risk factors result in a hypercoagulable state Show less
