Studying the mechanisms that underlie heart contraction

The modulation of CAMP/PKA signalling by cardiac NOX2

Dr Min Zhang and his colleagues at King’s College London are studying the mechanisms underpinning heart contraction, and what goes wrong in disease. The heart changes the strength of its ‘pump’ or contraction so it can adapt to different demands, for example during exercise or in response to the hormone adrenaline. It does this by changing the level of calcium within heart cells during each heartbeat. Dr Zhang has recently discovered that a protein called Nox2 plays an important role in stimulating heart contraction by producing more molecules called reactive oxygen species, particularly in disease. His initial research suggests that Nox2 controls heart contraction through pathways not previously known to be involved. In this project, Dr Zhang will investigate exactly how this protein controls how the heart works during health and disease. He also wants to understand how this new mechanism interacts with the effects of adrenaline, which we know increases the strength of heart muscle contraction. By discovering new molecules and pathways that boost heart contraction in disease, this research may lead to new treatments that improve how the heart works in conditions such as heart failure.