CNP – a guardian angel in the heart?

Delineating physiological and pathological regulatory roles for C-type natriuretic peptide in cardiac structure and function

Professor Hobbs and his team are experts in a small protein called C-type natriuretic peptide (CNP). They’ve shown in mice that it is released from the lining of blood vessels and has a protective effect upon them. It’s thought that CNP might be a useful target for new medicines to control high blood pressure. But the team believe CNP could be a guardian of heart health too. We know that it is released by heart muscle cells and, in mice, disrupting CNP leads to increased heart damage in heart failure, heart attack and pulmonary hypertension. In this five-year programme the researchers will study in detail the roles of CNP in the heart in mice. Using a range of cutting-edge techniques, they will investigate its effects in healthy and diseased hearts. They will study exactly how CNP carries out its functions, and begin to uncover the ways that new drugs might be able to enhance its protective effects. This research could hold promise for new therapeutic approaches to cardiovascular conditions, including treating pulmonary hypertension. This is an uncommon but life-threatening condition in which high blood pressure in the lungs leads to heart failure. Treatment options for pulmonary hypertension are limited, so CNP-targeted drugs could offer new hope.