£140,000 boost to develop drug that protects the heart

George Baillie, a Reader of Biochemistry within the Institute of Cardiovascular and Medical Sciences has received a Translational Research grant of £142,586 from national heart charity, Heart Research UK, to explore the development of novel drugs to protect the heart. Heart disease can result from the death of heart muscle cells following problems such as oxygen starvation, which occurs if the coronary arteries that supply blood to the heart muscle become blocked, or because of the pressure overload that results from having high blood pressure. To combat heart cell death, the body makes small proteins that protect the heart muscle cells. One such protein, HSP20, protects the cells following physical stress and also improves the pumping ability of the heart. HSP20 is only required in the heart during times of stress and lies dormant in heart cells until needed. Recently, it has been discovered that HSP20 binds to another protein called PDE4 which makes it more difficult for the body to switch on HSP20 when the heart is under strain. One way to get around this problem is to use a drug that blocks the activity of PDE4.