Grant: Project Grant

My lab has discovered that a protein that regulates the strength of cardiac contraction, the ryanodine receptor (RyR2), can be quickly re-positioned by physiological and pathological factors. The redistribution seems to be a fundamental mechanism by which the protein's function is changed; the goal of this project is to prove that. This unexpected discovery was made possible by years of basic research, by the acquisition of new hardware and by the development of new imaging visualization and analysis algorithms in my lab. The discovery is important because dysfunctional RyR2 cause arrhythmia and death in many acquired (e.g. heart failure) and genetic (catecholaminergic polymorphic ventricular tachycardia) heart diseases. Some existing therapies are being re-purposed in an attempt to control these 'leaky' RyR2, while there are efforts to develop new therapies. Discovering a new, fundamental, mechanism that regulates RyR2 and cardiac contractility will open new avenues for translational research.