Does a protein called Brn-3b help to protect blood vessels from damage?

Investigating a novel regulator of vascular calcification associated with hypertension

Dr Vishwanie Budhram Mahadeo and her team at University College London are working out what keeps blood vessels healthy and could prevent against disease. High blood pressure, or hypertension, is associated with ageing, diabetes and obesity, and is often called a silent killer because it develops over long periods of time. It is also linked to blood vessel damage such as calcification, where vessels become hardened with calcium and become very stiff and increase the risk of heart disease and stroke. This happens because the cells that make up the blood vessels, the smooth muscle cells, change in response to stress. Understanding how this early blood vessel damage happens may reveal ways to prevent the disease from progressing. Dr Mahadeo has discovered that a protein called Brn-3b may be important for keeping blood vessels healthy. Mice without Brn-3b develop hypertension and raised blood glucose. These mice also have more calcification and abnormalities in blood vessel walls, such as blood vessel narrowing and build-up of a protein called collagen. In this project, Dr Mahadeo will work out how Brn-3b may prevent these adverse changes in blood vessels, and how Brn-3b loss causes damage. This research will reveal how Brn-3b controls blood vessel health and what changes in hypertension and ageing, and may identify new ways to block or reverse damage.