Grant: Project Grant

When the heart is damaged, the body responds by laying down scar tissue. In the early stages, this is a good thing and helps to keep the heart pumping. After some time though, the scar tissue causes the heart to stiffen and it becomes more and more difficult for the heart to both pump, and fill up, with blood. The cells which produce the scar tissue are called fibroblasts, and they "talk" to the scar tissue so that they put the right amount down in the right place. However, this process often goes wrong, and that can cause the heart to fail even sooner. The proteins which help the cardiac fibroblasts "talk" to the scar tissue are called integrins. Our group has identified an integrin, which we don't know much about. It is called the "alpha 11 integrin". Research by our team has shown that when this integrin is missing, the hearts become stiff and the cells look small and thin. This research project will study how this protein "talks" to scar tissue, and what role it plays in the normal heart, and after the heart suffers damage. Given the fact that about 45% of all deaths in the world occur as a result of chronic scar tissue formation, it is vital that we understand exactly how scar tissues and cells work, so that we can one day develop new treatments to stop people dying not only of heart disease, but also other diseases where scar tissue is a problem such as liver disease, lung disease and kidney disease!