Grant: Project Grant

High blood pressure on the right side of the heart is known as pulmonary hypertension. This leads to scar tissue formation and ultimately, right heart failure and death. The cells which produce the scar tissue are called fibroblasts, and they "talk" to the scar tissue so that they place the right amount of scar tissue down in the correct location. However, once this process starts, it is difficult to turn off, leading to more and more scar tissue formation. In the end this causes the heart to fail. 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 development of right ventricular failure in pulmonary hypertension. 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 of right heart failure, a condition which is becoming increasingly common.