A commonly used compound in medicine is heparin, which prevents the formation of blood clots. Despite its widespread use, the physiological function of heparin has been enigmatic — until now. Two groups have generated mice that lack heparin, and they find that its function is to regulate the types and amounts of other biologically active mediators in granules found within the cytoplasm of mast cells.
- James L. Zehnder
- Stephen J. Galli
