Grant: Project Grant

The right ventricle is one of four chambers in the heart. It is responsible for pumping blood from the heart to the lungs, where the blood is replenished with oxygen. If the muscle of the right ventricle by changing either its structure or its functioning is not pumping as efficiently as it should be, right ventricular failure and premature death occur. This can be caused by a number of conditions, including high blood pressure in the lungs. Indeed, due to high blood pressure, the right ventricle has to work harder, that means over time that the right ventricle thickens and weakens because of the extra work it does. Although right ventricular failure is a common, costly and fatal condition, its diagnosis is suboptimal and no cure exists. In the present research proposal, we hypothesize that a molecule called H19 is specifically increased in the right ventricle of human patients with high blood pressure and animal models causing failure of the latter and that its detection in blood can serve as a tool in diagnosis and monitoring the disease. In addition, we propose that inhibition of H19 could be a new and promising avenue to improve the function of diseased right ventricle and thus help patients to live longer. We expect that the knowledge gained from the proposed project will provide new ways to treat the disease.