Piezo1 - a protein that could help us reap the heart health rewards of exercise.

Endothelial Piezo1 channel in whole body physical activity and cardio-metabolic protection

In the UK, too few of us achieve the recommended level of physical activity to protect our heart health. This is a complex problem in today’s society, and addressing it requires a wide range of solutions to encourage people to exercise and to help them reap the health benefits. Surprisingly, our understanding of exactly how – at the molecular level – exercise protects and improves our artery and heart health is quite limited. In 2014 Professor Beech and his team in Leeds discovered that a protein called Piezo1, present in the cells that line our arteries, is a blood flow sensor. They think Piezo1 might be the blood flow detector that enables exercise to protect against artery disease. This project will begin to thoroughly test these ideas. The researchers will study mice that possess a modified Piezo1 gene and are able to exercise on a wheel. Using cutting-edge microscopy and biochemical techniques the team will study how Piezo1 detects increased blood flow during exercise, and how this affects artery and heart health. They will then generate new chemicals which modulate Piezo1 to see if they can increase the health gains from exercise. By understanding this mechanism in mice and developing drug-like molecules to modulate it, the team hope to encourage drug discovery projects aimed at enhancing the protective benefits of exercise in humans.