Examining the PRCP enzyme as a potential new target for heart failure treatments

Investigating prolylcarboxypeptidase (PRCP) cascade in attenuating oxidative stress and mitochondrial damage: Is PRCP a suitable target for treating heart failure? 

Heart failure is a devastating condition, which affects hundreds of thousands of people in the UK. Several current medicines for treating heart failure centre around an enzyme called angiotensin, which can cause the condition to develop and get worse. ‘ACE inhibitors’ and ‘ARBs’ are two classes of heart failure drugs that work by reducing levels of angiotensin. They help many people living with heart failure, but more needs to be done as life expectancy for these individuals remains poor. Dr Xin Wing has shown that an enzyme named prolylcarboxypeptidase (PRCP) is able to destroy angiotensin in heart cells. They have seen that PRCP is reduced in failing human hearts, and they have shown in mice that removing PRCP leads to cell stress, problems with how the cells of the heart manage their energy needs, and heart failure. In this BHF-funded project, Dr Wang will use cutting edge techniques to find out exactly how PRCP breaks down angiotensin, and whether enhancing PRCP could preserve heart function. The information generated in this project will help to identify whether PRCP – or an agent that mimics its important actions in preventing cell stress and energy issues – could become a new therapeutic target for relieving heart failure.