Extracellular matrix remodelling in heart failure: The contribution of ADAMTS proteases
Researchers at King’s College London are studying why the mesh of proteins around the heart changes in heart disease. During heart failure the heart can’t pump strongly enough to respond to the demands of the body. It is a life-limiting condition with a poor prognosis. During the development of heart failure, the matrix of proteins that holds the heart together becomes reorganised OR disorganised. These researchers believe that protecting this matrix could have benefits in tackling heart disease. The extracellular matrix is a web of more than 100 proteins that holds the heart in its correct shape and helps cells to work together normally. . It changes during heart disease, causing the heart to become stiffer and less able to pump blood around the body. Proteins called ADAMTS are known to degrade extracellular matrix proteins. If the ADAMTS proteins do not work correctly, the extracellular matrix can become disorganised, stopping the heart from beating effectively. As a consequence, the heart becomes bigger than usual, and may struggle to work normally. In this project, Dr Barallobre Barreiro will study one ADAMTS protein (ADAMTS-5) in more detail. His aim is to understand exactly what ADAMTS-5 does to the matrix, and why this is important in driving heart disease. By controlling ADAMTS-5, we may develop treatments to stop the extracellular matrix from remodelling inappropriately in heart disease, preventing heart failure.
Project details
| Grant amount | £775,566 |
|---|---|
| Grant type | Fellowships |
| Application type | Intermediate Basic Science Research Fellowship |
| Start Date | 01 August 2019 |
| Duration | 5 years |
| Reference | FS/19/33/34328 |
| Status | In Progress |
