Understanding the link between diabetes and cardiovascular disease

Coronary endothelial glycocalyx: a potential contributor to diabetic cardiomyopathy

Dr Simon Satchell’s team at the University of Bristol is trying to understand the link between diabetes and onset of cardiovascular disease. Diabetes is a major risk factor for the development of heart and circulatory disease. This risk might arise because patients with diabetes undergo changes in their circulatory system that ultimately impairs the heart’s function. The team are looking at capillaries – the tiny blood vessels in the circulatory system – because they think that during diabetes the cells that line capillaries become damaged. These cells are called endothelial cells and they play an important part in regulating the normal function of the circulatory system so that the heart and other organs receive enough oxygen. In the laboratory, looking in mice and human endothelial cells, they will see if diabetes damages the gel-like layer on the surface of endothelial cells called the glycocalyx. The glycocalyx is a complex part of the circulatory system and has multiple functions in controlling the behaviour of endothelial cells. They hope to confirm whether disruption to this coating upsets the ability of the circulatory system to pump blood to the heart, potentially leading to heart failure.