KLF4 regulates VSMC migration and proliferation via exosomes
Dr Alexander Kapustin and his team at King’s College London are exploring how to boost the body’s natural ability to heal itself. Blood vessels have an in-built repair mechanism, in which cells called vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMCs) in the vessel wall move and multiply to heal the injury site. These researchers are studying this process and believe that tiny packets of chemicals – called exosomes – released from VSMCs, could be key. Dr Kapustin has discovered that a molecule called KLF4 kicks off a process to increase the release of exosomes from VSMCs. He believes that this helps the VSMCs to change shape, move and re-establish themselves in a new position, during blood vessel repair. In this project he’ll be testing this theory with detailed studies in mice, looking at how KLF4 exerts its effects and how exosomes help VSMCs to carry out repair. By uncovering why and how VSMCs produce exosomes, we may be able to find a way to modify this process – perhaps by targeting KLF4. In the future, therapies that boost blood vessel repair could help to limit the build-up of fatty plaques in coronary arteries, and prevent blockages that cause heart attacks.
Project details
| Grant amount | £142,001 |
|---|---|
| Grant type | Project Grants |
| Application type | Project Grant |
| Start Date | 01 August 2017 |
| Duration | 1 year, 6 months |
| Reference | PG/17/37/33023 |
| Status | In Progress |
