The role of IL-36 in mediating microcirculatory disturbances in the young and aged murine heart after myocardial ischaemia-reperfusion injury (Mr Juma El-Awaisi)
A heart attack occurs when an artery supplying blood to the heart becomes blocked, starving part of the heart of its blood supply. These arteries are just a few millimetres in diameter, but are large enough to be assessed by the angiogram equipment available in every cardiology department. The networks of tiny blood vessels making up the heart’s ‘microcirculation’ are much more difficult to assess, and their importance in heart injury after a heart attack may be greater than previously thought. This research team has developed a new technique that allows them to look directly at microvessels within the beating heart in mice. They will use this method to understand and compare how a heart attack and subsequent treatment affects these vessels, in young and old hearts. They will also investigate an inflammatory protein called interleukin-36 which they believe plays an important role in the damage to the heart’s microvessels, and appears to be more active in older hearts. Heart attacks occur predominantly in older people. By studying the differences in microcirculation response at different ages the researchers hope to gain clues to help us protect older hearts from the long-term damage caused by heart attacks.
Project details
| Grant amount | £159,792 |
|---|---|
| Grant type | Fellowships |
| Application type | PhD Studentship |
| Start Date | 04 March 2019 |
| Duration | 3 years |
| Reference | FS/18/45/33862 |
| Status | In Progress |
