Studying a heart protein that senses blood flow and mechanical stress

Exploring the function of mechanosensitive ion channel protein Piezo1 in cardiac myocytes (Ms Elizabeth Evans)

Supervised by Dr Jing Li, this PhD student is working out how heart muscle cells respond to mechanical stress. Heart muscle is made up of cells that are constantly exposed to mechanical stimulation as the heart beats and blood flows through it. These physical forces are required to keep the heart working properly. Dr Li’s team has recently discovered a protein called Piezo1 located on the cell membrane that senses mechanical signals and influences how blood vessels respond to blood flow. Piezo1 acts as a type of channel, which allows small molecules or atoms to enter the cell. When a mechanical force is applied, the channel opens, calcium atoms move into the cell and this changes how the cells function. Dr Li believes Piezo1 helps heart cells sense and respond to the mechanical stresses involved in pumping blood In this PhD project, the student will study how heart cells work without Piezo1 by deleting it in a mouse model and blocking its activity with other molecules. The researchers want to understand how mechanical stimulation is sensed by heart muscle cells and how Piezo1 helps to regulate heart function in normal hearts and when the heart is exposed to additional mechanical stresses. This research will reveal how physical forces on heart muscle cells affect the heart structure and function during normal pumping and in stress situations, such as high blood pressure. It may lead to the development of new ways to prevent or treat heart disease where mechanical stress is an important factor.