Developing urgently needed treatments for aortic aneurysms

Vascular smooth muscle cell Orai1 in abdominal aortic aneurysm

An abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA) is a ballooning of the main blood vessel in the abdomen. Once an aneurysm develops it tends to grow over time with no symptoms, and if it bursts, it is usually fatal. The only treatment is surgery, but this is not without its risks. Dr Bailey’s research is focused on finding molecules that could be targeted with drugs in the cells that line the wall of the aneurysm, called vascular smooth muscle cells. This fellowship is focusing on a molecule called Orai1, which controls the movement of calcium in and out of cells. Dr Bailey’s lab has already shown that blocking Orai1’s activity with a potential drug reduced the severity of aortic aneurysms and prevented them bursting in mice. This project builds on this by studying mice that have had Orai1 deleted from their vascular smooth muscle cells. This will confirm whether it is these cells that cause the damaging response seen in their earlier work. They will also look at other molecules controlled by Orai1. The work will increase understanding of how aortic aneurysms develop and it is hoped that Orai1 will prove to be a promising target for the development of new drugs for people with AAA in future.