Light-controlled proteins to probe heart muscle enlargement and scarring
Optogenetic protein design for hypertrophic signaling pathways
Researchers are making light-activated versions of normal heart proteins to switch on and off signaling that drives heart enlargement and scarring for people with heart disease.
Quick facts
| Grant type | R01 grant |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | Univ of North Carolina Chapel Hill NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Chapel Hill, United States) |
| Project ID | NIH-11115591 on NIH RePORTER |
What this research studies
The team will engineer light-responsive versions of proteins that control cAMP signaling inside heart cells so they can turn specific pathways on and off with light. They will place these engineered proteins at precise locations inside heart muscle cells to see how local signals change cell growth and behavior. Using these tools, they will map which intracellular signaling domains and cell-to-cell communication events lead to hypertrophy (enlargement) and fibrosis (scarring). Results will come from lab experiments on heart cells and tissue models conducted at the UNC Chapel Hill laboratory.
Who could benefit from this research
Good fit: People with conditions characterized by cardiac hypertrophy or cardiac fibrosis, such as hypertrophic cardiomyopathy or heart failure with remodeling, are the most relevant population for future therapies informed by this work.
Not a fit: Patients whose heart problems are primarily due to unrelated causes like congenital structural defects or acute blocked arteries may not directly benefit from these findings.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, this work could pinpoint exact signaling events to target with new drugs or therapies to prevent or reverse heart enlargement and scarring.
How similar studies have performed: Optogenetics has been used successfully to control neurons and to pace heart tissue, but applying engineered light-sensitive versions of native heart signaling proteins to map hypertrophy and fibrosis is largely novel.
Where this research is happening
Chapel Hill, United States
- Univ of North Carolina Chapel Hill — Chapel Hill, United States (Active)
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Haar, Lauren L — Univ of North Carolina Chapel Hill
- Study coordinator: Haar, Lauren L
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.