Keeping heart muscle proteins healthy in heart failure
Official title: Cardiac Sarcomere Protein Quality Control in Health and Disease
Funded at Loyola University Chicago · NIH-11311305 · Data updated 2026-11-12
This project looks at whether boosting a protein called BAG3 can help heart muscle proteins stay healthy and improve heart function for people with heart failure.
Quick facts
| Grant type | R01 grant |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | Loyola University Chicago NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Maywood, United States) |
| Project start | April 1, 2017 |
| Project end | March 31, 2027 |
| Funding year | 2026 |
| Award (this year) | $528,430 |
| NIH project number | 5R01HL136737-10 |
| Project ID | NIH-11311305 on NIH RePORTER |
Who could benefit from this research
✓Could help
People with heart failure—especially those with weakened heart muscle—are the population this research could most directly apply to.
✕Less likely to help
People without heart failure or whose condition is not driven by sarcomere protein problems are unlikely to benefit directly from this work.
What this research studies
Researchers are studying how heart muscle cells clear damaged contractile proteins and how loss of the co-chaperone BAG3 leads to buildup of faulty proteins. They examine human heart tissue samples and use animal models to see what happens when BAG3 is reduced or replaced. The team measures protein damage, ubiquitination, and muscle force, and tests BAG3 gene therapy in mice to see if restoring BAG3 improves heart muscle performance. Results will help guide whether targeting sarcomere protein quality control could become a treatment pathway.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, this work could lead to treatments that restore heart muscle strength by fixing protein quality control, potentially improving symptoms and heart function in people with heart failure.
How similar studies have gone: Early laboratory and animal studies, including BAG3 gene therapy in mice, showed improved heart muscle function, but human testing is still limited.
Where this research is happening
-
Loyola University Chicago
Maywood, United States Active
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Kirk, Jonathan a — Loyola University Chicago
- Study coordinator: Kirk, Jonathan a
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.