Investigation of aberrant QKI splicing in diabetes and the specific role of QKI 7 as a novel target to reverse EC dysfunction
It is estimated that by 2045 there will be 629 million people with diabetes across the globe. Diabetes is a major cause of damage to our blood vessels, which can lead to heart attacks, stroke, kidney failure and blindness. The reason diabetes is so bad for our veins and arteries is because it impairs the important cells that line their inner surface, called endothelial cells. However, we still don’t fully understand how this occurs. Dr Andriana Margariti and her team are currently investigating a protein, known as QKI, with an important role in controlling how endothelial cells function. They’ve shown in diabetes that a ‘harmful’ form of QKI, called QKI7, is created, and this has knock-on effects on how the endothelial cells work. Now they’ll delve into this further, by studying how this ‘bad’ version of QKI is created and how it affects the endothelial cells from people with diabetes. They will also create endothelial cells that lack QKI7 and see how it changes their function. This project could identify QKI7 as a potential therapeutic target to reverse the dangerous effects of diabetes on our blood vessels.
Project details
| Grant amount | £281,257 |
|---|---|
| Grant type | Project Grants |
| Application type | Project Grant |
| Start Date | 21 January 2019 |
| Duration | 3 years |
| Reference | PG/18/29/33731 |
| Status | In Progress |
