Studying how the mechanical stress of the heartbeat could affect ion channel proteins

Mechanosensitive ion-channels in cardiac sarcoplasmic reticulum

Professor Rebecca Sitsapesan from the University of Oxford has received three years’ BHF funding to study what processes are going on in the heart which enable it to act as a strong mechanical force, pumping oxygenated blood around the body. Prof Sitsapesan will investigate how special proteins inside heart cells (called ion channels) are sensitive to this mechanical stress. These ion channels allow important molecules – such as calcium – which are essential for normal heart rhythms to flow in and out of the cells. Understanding the normal processes that control the strong, coordinated and rhythmic beating of the heart is central to understanding what may go wrong and how it may be best treated.