Understanding the molecular changes that could lead to aortic aneurysm

AortOMICS - Proteomics-based assessment of thoracic aneurysm formation

Aneurysms are balloon-like bulges that form in blood vessels, for example in the body's main artery in the chest - the aorta. Some aneurysms may stay small but others can burst and be fatal. There are currently no effective treatments for aortic aneurysms, apart from surgery, which carries a significant risk to the patient. Medicines to stop or slow the ballooning of arteries are urgently needed, and to develop them we must first understand the molecular and cellular changes that occur as an aneurysm progresses. The cells that make up the artery wall are covered with a scaffold of strengthening and anchoring proteins, called the extracellular matrix. This scaffold is degraded during the formation of aneurysms, creating a weakness. But the precise mechanism behind this degradation is not well understood. Professor Manuel Mayr and colleagues will use sophisticated proteomic techniques, to analyse the components of the matrix in tissue samples from the aorta of healthy people and those from people prone to aneurysm. The team will compare the proteins within the extracellular matrix in both sets of volunteers, and study the characteristics of those proteins. Professor Mayr hopes that this will spotlight elements of the matrix that could be potential targets around which to design long-awaited treatments for aortic aneurysms.