Developing drugs to protect against the damage caused by heart attacks

Protecting the heart with a novel activator of the RISK pathway

A heart attack happens when there is a blockage in a coronary artery which supplies blood to the heart. Restoring blood flow – known as reperfusion - is an essential part of treating a heart attack, but this can itself cause a build-up of potentially damaging chemicals. This can cause further injury to the heart that could lead to heart failure. Dr Davidson and his team have previously identified a network of molecules, called the “Reperfusion Injury Salvage Kinase” (RISK) pathway, that can help protect against heart injury. After testing half a million chemicals, they have identified potential drugs that can switch on the RISK pathway in heart cells. Now, they plan to determine whether two candidate drugs can protect the heart against injury. They will study the effects of these drugs in heart cells grown in a dish, in the hearts of rats, and using heart tissue donated by people who have had surgery. Each of these experiments will tell the team something different about how these drugs switch on the RISK pathway. It’s a vital part of a larger, collaborative study to develop RISK-activating drugs as a potential treatment for people who experience a heart attack.