Cooperative Modulation of Piezo Channels and Heart Health
Official title: Cooperative Modulation of Piezo Channels
Funded at Western University of Health Sciences · NIH-11376571 · Data updated 2026-11-12
A study to understand how PIEZO channels in heart and blood vessels respond to mechanical forces and how their behavior might contribute to conditions like hypertension and cardiomyopathy.
Quick facts
| Grant type | R01 grant |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | Western University of Health Sciences NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Pomona, United States) |
| Project start | July 21, 2025 |
| Project end | April 30, 2029 |
| Funding year | 2026 |
| Award (this year) | $613,305 |
| NIH project number | 5R01HL179692-02 |
| Project ID | NIH-11376571 on NIH RePORTER |
Who could benefit from this research
✓Could help
Ideal candidates are patients with cardiovascular conditions associated with PIEZO dysfunction, or healthy volunteers contributing data through future mechanistic studies.
✕Less likely to help
People without cardiovascular disease or without interest in mechanotransduction research may not directly benefit.
What this research studies
This project examines how PIEZO channels sense mechanical signals in heart and blood vessels and how their interactions could lead to disease. Researchers will run computer simulations to study how membrane footprints of PIEZO channels behave and collide, potentially affecting channel activity. They will also image calcium signals in cells at high speed to map how PIEZO channels move and work in real time. The goal is to uncover mechanisms that could be targeted to treat cardiovascular diseases linked to PIEZO dysfunction.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, findings could inform new strategies to prevent or treat cardiovascular diseases related to PIEZO dysfunction by revealing targets to modulate channel activity.
How similar studies have gone: Previous work links PIEZO channel mechanics to cardiovascular pathologies, suggesting a promising but evolving area.
Where this research is happening
-
Western University of Health Sciences
Pomona, United States Active
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Lacroix, Jerome — Western University of Health Sciences
- Study coordinator: Lacroix, Jerome
About this research
- This is an active NIH-funded research project — typically early-stage science, not a clinical trial accepting patient enrollment.
- Some NIH-funded labs run parallel clinical studies or seek volunteers for related work. To check, contact the principal investigator or institution listed above.
- For full project details, budget, and progress reports, visit the official NIH RePORTER page.