Targeting the sphingosine-1 phosphate pathway to reduce myocardial ischemia / reperfusion injury
Professor Ioakim Spyridopoulos and his team at the University of Newcastle are studying how heart tissue becomes damaged after stents are fitted. When a coronary artery that supplies the heart becomes blocked, doctors open the blocked artery and restore blood flow to the heart muscle using a stent. This improves the outcome for patients who have a heart attack. However, if the blood flow is restored too quickly heart tissue can be damaged. This is called ischemia-reperfusion injury, or IRI, and it can lead to heart failure. Professor Spyridopoulos has discovered that during IRI the number of immune cells called CD4 T lymphocytes increases in the blood. He has also found that a molecule called sphingosine-1 phosphate (S1P), which directs immune cells from blood to tissues and could potentially protect the heart form injury, falls after IRI. In this project the team are looking at whether increasing S1P levels protects mice from IRI. They want to know if, by taking this step, they can minimise the amount of scar tissue and improve the function of the left side of the heart after a heart attack. This research may reveal new insights into the role of the immune system in IRI. Drugs that increase the levels of S1P by blocking its breakdown are already being used in patients for other medical conditions, so this project could reveal a quick way to improve outcomes for those who have stents fitted.
Project details
| Grant amount | £122,637 |
|---|---|
| Grant type | Project Grants |
| Application type | Project Grant |
| Start Date | 01 April 2015 |
| Duration | 2 years |
| Reference | PG/15/4/31178 |
| Status | Complete |
