SALTe1 and aging blood vessels in heart failure with preserved ejection fraction
Official title: The Role of SALTe1 in Vascular Aging and Heart Failure With Preserved Ejection Fraction
Funded at Massachusetts General Hospital · NIH-11250054 · Data updated 2026-11-12
This project will try blocking a molecule called SALTe1 to improve blood vessel health and heart function in older adults with HFpEF.
Quick facts
| Grant type | R01 grant |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | Massachusetts General Hospital NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Boston, United States) |
| Project start | January 1, 2025 |
| Project end | December 31, 2028 |
| Funding year | 2026 |
| Award (this year) | $677,685 |
| NIH project number | 5R01HL169272-02 |
| Project ID | NIH-11250054 on NIH RePORTER |
Who could benefit from this research
✓Could help
Ideal candidates are older adults who have heart failure with preserved ejection fraction (HFpEF) and signs of microvascular dysfunction.
✕Less likely to help
People with heart failure with reduced ejection fraction or those whose symptoms stem from nonvascular causes are less likely to benefit from this specific approach.
What this research studies
Researchers found a molecule called SALTe1 increases in heart blood-vessel cells with age and appears to drive cellular aging and poorer vessel growth. They will use lab-grown endothelial cells and aged mice to lower SALTe1 and measure effects on blood-vessel function, new vessel growth, and heart performance. The team builds on prior work showing exercise lowers SALTe1 and reverses some aging changes in mouse hearts, and will test molecular inhibition as an alternative approach. If promising, the findings could support future human studies aimed at improving symptoms in older people with HFpEF.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, this work could lead to new treatments that restore small blood-vessel health and improve symptoms for older adults with HFpEF.
How similar studies have gone: Exercise-based studies in mice have improved cardiac aging and early preclinical work targeting long noncoding RNAs is encouraging, but direct benefits in people have not yet been proven.
Where this research is happening
-
Massachusetts General Hospital
Boston, United States Active
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Li, Haobo — Massachusetts General Hospital
- Study coordinator: Li, Haobo
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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.