Keeping heart muscle cells connected as the heart ages
Official title: Regulation of Mechanical Coupling in Aging Myocardium
Funded at Lankenau Institute for Medical Research · NIH-11520493 · Data updated 2026-11-12
This project looks at whether strengthening the physical links between heart muscle cells can help aging hearts keep working better.
Quick facts
| Grant type | R21 grant |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | Lankenau Institute for Medical Research NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Wynnewood, United States) |
| Project start | June 15, 2024 |
| Project end | May 31, 2026 |
| Funding year | 2025 |
| Award (this year) | $73,588 |
| NIH project number | 7R21AG077036-03 |
| Project ID | NIH-11520493 on NIH RePORTER |
Who could benefit from this research
✓Could help
People most relevant to this work would be older adults with age-related heart stiffness or early-stage heart failure with preserved ejection fraction who might be candidates for future clinical therapies based on these mechanisms.
✕Less likely to help
Patients with acute heart attacks, congenital heart defects, or heart problems unrelated to aging may not directly benefit from these specific findings.
What this research studies
From a patient's perspective, researchers are using mouse models to understand how the connections between heart cells change with age. They will focus on proteins that physically link cells—especially vinculin, N-cadherin, and the Abl kinase pathway—and see how modifying those proteins affects heart stiffness and function. The team will test whether blocking certain modifications of vinculin or altering Abl kinase activity speeds up or slows age-related decline in heart performance. Findings aim to reveal basic mechanisms that might point to future treatments to preserve heart function in older adults.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, this work could identify new molecular targets to prevent or reduce age-related stiffening of the heart and lead to therapies that help older people maintain heart function.
How similar studies have gone: Previous research has suggested that changes in cytoskeletal proteins can protect the aging heart, but directly targeting vinculin phosphorylation and Abl kinase in this context is a novel, exploratory approach.
Where this research is happening
-
Lankenau Institute for Medical Research
Wynnewood, United States Active
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Radice, Glenn Lawrence — Lankenau Institute for Medical Research
- Study coordinator: Radice, Glenn Lawrence
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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.