Engineered Calcium Receptors in the Heart Improve Function

Researchers here demonstrate that using gene therapy to introduce a modified calcium receptor into the heart can improve the calcium signaling that drives the heartbeat, and that the effects are measurable even for a small uptake of the new receptor in heart cells. In the context of heart disease and degenerative aging of the heart, this approach could partially compensate for progressive failure of function in the organ, though it doesn't fix any of the underlying cell and tissue damage, or the prior remodeling of the heart caused by arterial stiffening and consequent hypertension. Researchers have engineered new calcium receptors for the heart to tune the strength of the heartbeat in an animal model. The team developed a protein engineering approach by tailoring the heart's ability to respond to calcium, which is the signal for contraction. Using a modified version of troponin C (TnC L48Q), their study showed it can enhance or therapeutically preserve heart function and cardiovascular performance in mice without harmful effects commonly seen with other agents that increase heart muscle contraction. Most heart muscle diseases involve problems with contraction. Many strategies increase the calcium signal to improve heart contraction. However, they do so at the expense of other functions. This can cause negative side effects, such as arrhythmias and cell death, and ultimately increase mortality. The team evaluated TnC L48Q in a common heart pathology - myocardial infarction,...
Source: Fight Aging! - Category: Research Authors: Tags: Daily News Source Type: blogs