How the heart's natural pacemaker adjusts to stretch
Official title: Molecular mechanisms of mechanosensation in the cardiac pacemaker
Funded at University of Washington · NIH-11092189 · Data updated 2026-11-12
This project explores how the heart's natural pacemaker senses and responds to changes in stretch, which helps it adjust your heart rate.
Quick facts
| Grant type | R01 grant |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | University of Washington NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Seattle, United States) |
| Project start | August 1, 2022 |
| Project end | May 31, 2027 |
| Funding year | 2025 |
| Award (this year) | $388,750 |
| NIH project number | 5R01HL162609-04 |
| Project ID | NIH-11092189 on NIH RePORTER |
Who could benefit from this research
✓Could help
This foundational research is not directly recruiting patients but aims to benefit individuals with conditions related to heart rate acceleration and cardiac arrhythmias in the future.
✕Less likely to help
Patients seeking immediate treatment or direct clinical intervention for their heart conditions would not directly benefit from this basic science project.
What this research studies
Your heart is constantly working and adapting to your body's needs, like when you exercise or relax. It has a natural pacemaker that adjusts your heart rate based on signals it receives, including how much it stretches. We want to understand the specific molecules that allow the pacemaker to sense this stretch and speed up your heart when needed. By focusing on special channels called PIEZO channels, we hope to uncover how this vital process works at a molecular level. This knowledge could help us better understand conditions where the heart's rhythm is irregular.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, this work could lead to a deeper understanding of heart rate regulation and potentially new ways to address heart rhythm problems.
How similar studies have gone: While the general concept of the heart adjusting to stretch is known, the specific molecular players, like PIEZO channels, in the cardiac pacemaker's response have not yet been explored.
Where this research is happening
-
University of Washington
Seattle, United States Active
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Moreno, Claudia Marcela — University of Washington
- Study coordinator: Moreno, Claudia Marcela
Related research
Other NIH-funded projects on the same topics.
-
Time-dependent membrane proteins in circadian brain cells
A research project will map how membrane proteins in brain clock neurons change over time and may reveal targets to support healthy sleep, metabolism, and behavior.
-
Understanding how human heart pacemaker cells develop
Scientists are studying how the human heart’s natural pacemaker forms, which could lead to better treatments for rhythm problems.
-
Understanding how specialized heart pacemaker cells drive rhythm and dysfunction
This NIH grant explores how distinct heart pacemaker cell subtypes contribute to normal rhythm and sinus node dysfunction, with the goal of guiding better treatments for heart rhythm problems.
-
Biopacemakers for aging hearts using stem-cell pacemaker cells
Aims to help older patients with a faulty heart rhythm by using lab-made pacemaker cells grown from patients’ own stem cells.
-
Magnesium transporter and heart pacemaker: a primate model of arrhythmias
A physician-scientist at Stanford is studying how a magnesium transporter affects the heart's natural pacemaker rhythm in primate-like models to better understand human arrhythmias.
-
How heart pacemakers sense stretch and speed up
A study at the University of Washington will explore how PIEZO channels in the heart’s pacemaker help the heart beat faster when the heart experiences stretch.
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.