MicroRNA-214, a novel player in smooth muscle cell differentiation and angioplasty restenosis
Dr Qingzhong Xiao and his team at Queen Mary, University of London are working out why arteries re-narrow after coronary angioplasty. Doctors carry out this procedure to restore the blood supply to the heart muscle. It involves widening narrowed coronary arteries using a balloon, and sometimes inserting a small tube called a stent to keep them open. Although this procedure has vastly improved, angiographic restenosis – when the artery narrows again - often happens between three and six months after the initial procedure. Understanding how angiographic restenosis happens may reveal ways to prevent it. Scientists have discovered that small molecules circulating in the blood called microRNAs, which regulate the proteins produced by our cells, may be important in the heart’s development and in various heart and circulatory diseases. Dr Xiao has found that a particular microRNA called miR-214 is essential for stem cells to transform, or mature, into smooth muscle cells, and for blood vessels to thicken and narrow. In this project, Dr Xiao will work out miR-214’s vital role in the cell maturation process, if it is involved in artery re-narrowing after coronary angioplasty, and what molecular mechanisms are involved. This research may reveal new ways to prevent arteries narrowing.
Project details
| Grant amount | £185,233 |
|---|---|
| Grant type | Project Grants |
| Application type | Project Grant |
| Start Date | 20 September 2016 |
| Duration | 2 years |
| Reference | PG/16/1/31892 |
| Status | Complete |
