Grant: Collaborative Health Research Projects

Cardiovascular disease (CVD) ranks number one in worldwide mortality. In Canada, heart*disease is responsible for a third of the yearly deaths. The procedures currently used to treat*heart attack patients can restore blood flow to the heart, but they do not repair or regenerate*the damaged tissue. As a result, patients are left with a poorly functioning heart. About 1 in*every 10 patients will develop advanced heart failure, and this number is growing. These*patients suffer a loss of blood pumping capacity, and heart failure has a 5-year mortality rate*of ~50%. Thus, there is a need to develop a new therapy able to simultaneously prevent the*onset of heart failure and promote heart repair. Cell therapy has shown promise for treating*damaged hearts, but improvements are needed. Our goal is to develop a new biomaterial that*can be used with cell therapy to improve repair in the damaged heart and limit the extent of*damage that occurs. The material is made from collagen, a protein with an important role in*supporting cells and regulating their function. It is injectable for easy delivery into the injured*heart tissue. In preparation for clinical use, we aim to investigate how the physical properties*of our injectable collagen materials affect their ability to repair the heart. The materials will*also be optimized to enhance the function of therapeutic cells. For this, we will use animal*models of heart disease, which closely mimics the human condition. This work will allow us to*establish which characteristics our materials require in order to achieve the best therapeutic*outcome.