How the heart handles vitamin A in adults with heart failure
Retinoid Metabolism in the Adult Heart and Heart Failure
This project looks at how the heart makes and uses a vitamin A hormone (ATRA) and whether restoring its heart levels could help adults with heart failure.
Quick facts
| Grant type | R01 grant |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | Johns Hopkins University NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Baltimore, United States) |
| Project ID | NIH-11334352 on NIH RePORTER |
What this research studies
This project studies why levels of a vitamin A hormone (called ATRA) fall in failing adult hearts and whether fixing that helps. The team uses lab-grown human heart cells and engineered human heart tissue, analyzes samples from people with dilated cardiomyopathy, and tests genetic and animal models to identify the enzymes that control ATRA in the heart. Because giving ATRA to the whole body can cause side effects and clears quickly, researchers aim to target the specific heart enzymes that make or break ATRA for a more precise approach. If you have heart failure, this work may lead to future trials that restore heart-specific retinoid signaling or new drugs that act on those enzymes.
Who could benefit from this research
Good fit: Adults with heart failure—especially those with idiopathic dilated cardiomyopathy—or people willing to donate heart tissue could be candidates for related future trials or sample contributions.
Not a fit: People without heart disease or whose heart failure is caused by issues unrelated to retinoid metabolism may not receive direct benefit from this research.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, this work could lead to treatments that restore the heart's vitamin A hormone and help prevent or slow heart failure.
How similar studies have performed: Previous lab and animal work showed giving ATRA can prevent heart failure in some models, but targeting heart-specific enzymes is a newer and less-tested approach.
Where this research is happening
Baltimore, United States
- Johns Hopkins University — Baltimore, United States (Active)
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Foster, D Brian — Johns Hopkins University
- Study coordinator: Foster, D Brian
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 below.