Grant: Project Grant

During diabetes, the heart has limited capacity to use sugar and must adapt to largely using fats to generate energy. While this switch ensures that the heart is able to manage its constant energy demands, the increased reliance upon fats leads to a number of dire consequences. This is because when using fats, the heart requires substantial oxygen, which is in short supply due to blood vessel defects in the heart. This leads to fat accumulation in the heart with associated cellular damage. It is within this framework that a protein produced mainly in the heart, VEGFB, has emerged as a potentially efficacious agent against diabetic heart disease. VEGFB has the capability of a) enhancing blood vessel formation in the heart, which can aid in providing the necessary oxygen to use fat, b) shifting energy production back to using sugar and c) preventing cell death to delay heart failure. Using animal models (where the heart over produces VEGFB), isolated cells from the heart and models of high glucose, our project will investigate VEGFB as a cardio-protective therapy in diabetes.