Identifying VEGFR roles in cardiac stem cell contribution to new vascular cell formation
When the heart becomes damaged – for example, after a heart attack – this reduces the blood supply to the muscle cells which contract to pump blood around the body. Over time, this reduces the heart’s ability to pump. This is known as heart failure, a highly debilitating condition. Dr Andrew Smith and his team are looking for ways to promote the stimulating stem cells that reside in the heart muscle to form new small blood vessels to increase the blood supply to the muscle and limit the damage caused. Stem cells found in the adult heart have the potential to develop into different types of cells, including blood vessel cells. They can also release chemical messengers that encourage other cells to form blood vessels. But the detailed steps underlying these actions aren’t fully known. The team will study how these stem cells work, and how they can influence them to improve their capacity to replace dead or damaged blood vessels in the heart. They hope to find safe and effective ways to boost these processes. In the future, this may help the development of new treatments to prevent or slow the progression of heart damage and protect people from developing heart failure.
Project details
| Grant amount | £110,592 |
|---|---|
| Grant type | Project Grants |
| Application type | Project Grant |
| Start Date | 01 March 2019 |
| Duration | 1 year, 9 months |
| Reference | PG/18/39/33618 |
| Status | In Progress |
