RxPG News Feed for RxPG News

Medical Research Health Special Topics World
  Home
 
   Health
 Aging
 Asian Health
 Events
 Fitness
 Food & Nutrition
 Happiness
 Men's Health
 Mental Health
 Occupational Health
 Parenting
 Public Health
 Sleep Hygiene
 Women's Health
 
   Healthcare
 Africa
 Australia
 Canada Healthcare
 China Healthcare
 India Healthcare
 New Zealand
 South Africa
 UK
 USA
 World Healthcare
 
   Latest Research
 Aging
 Alternative Medicine
 Anaethesia
 Biochemistry
 Biotechnology
 Cancer
 Cardiology
  CAD
  CHF
  Clinical Trials
  Hypertension
  Myocardial Infarction
 Clinical Trials
 Cytology
 Dental
 Dermatology
 Embryology
 Endocrinology
 ENT
 Environment
 Epidemiology
 Gastroenterology
 Genetics
 Gynaecology
 Haematology
 Immunology
 Infectious Diseases
 Medicine
 Metabolism
 Microbiology
 Musculoskeletal
 Nephrology
 Neurosciences
 Obstetrics
 Ophthalmology
 Orthopedics
 Paediatrics
 Pathology
 Pharmacology
 Physiology
 Physiotherapy
 Psychiatry
 Radiology
 Rheumatology
 Sports Medicine
 Surgery
 Toxicology
 Urology
 
   Medical News
 Awards & Prizes
 Epidemics
 Launch
 Opinion
 Professionals
 
   Special Topics
 Ethics
 Euthanasia
 Evolution
 Feature
 Odd Medical News
 Climate

Last Updated: Oct 11, 2012 - 10:22:56 PM
CAD Channel

subscribe to CAD newsletter
Latest Research : Cardiology : CAD

   EMAIL   |   PRINT
Genetic Regulator for Coronary Artery Smooth Muscle Cells Identified

Jul 31, 2006 - 11:40:00 AM , Reviewed by: Sanjukta Acharya
"Understanding the factors that play a role in this increased cell growth may provide an opportunity to target its role in both the initial development of artery blockages and in the restenosis following angioplasty"

 
[RxPG] Through studying pigeons with genetic heart disease, researchers at Wake Forest University School of Medicine have discovered a clue about why some patients' heart vessels are prone to close back up after angioplasty.

"We identified a regulator of genes that controls the growth of artery smooth muscle cells," said William Wagner, Ph.D., senior researcher. "Learning to modulate the uncontrolled growth of these cells could potentially solve the problem of vessels re-closing after angioplasty."

Angioplasty uses a balloon-like device to crush the material blocking an artery. But, within three to six months, even if a stent is placed in the artery to keep it open, the vessel becomes re-blocked in about 25 percent to 30 percent of patients. This process, known as restenosis, has been described as "over exuberant" tissue healing and involves the smooth muscle cells. It is not known why this happens in some people and not in others, but many scientists believe that genes are to blame, Wagner said.

The researchers sought to find the answer in two breeds of pigeons – one that is genetically susceptible to heart attacks and heart vessel disease (white carneau) and one (show racer) that is resistant. A major difference between the two breeds is that smooth muscle cells from the heart vessels of white carneau pigeons are prone to uncontrolled growth.

"Understanding the factors that play a role in this increased cell growth may provide an opportunity to target its role in both the initial development of artery blockages and in the restenosis following angioplasty," said Wagner, a professor of pathology and fellow of the American Heart Association.

Genes "express," or produce, proteins that are used in building tissue. The process begins with "transcription," or the copying of a gene's DNA sequence.

It is not known which genes might control the pigeons' heart vessel tissue-building process, so Wagner's group focused on "transcription factors," which regulate whether a gene is expressed and at what rate. The group's aim was to see if certain transcription factors might be found in altered amounts in the smooth muscle cells of pigeons that are prone to atherosclerosis.

They screened 54 different transcription factors and found that one, known as STAT4, was 10 times higher in the white carneau pigeons with genetic heart disease. Further testing showed that stimulating STAT4 in smooth muscle cells in the laboratory resulted in a threefold increase in cell growth.

"We were very surprised," said Wagner. "This is one of the first reports of this factor being found in smooth muscle cells."

Wagner said the finding has potential for helping scientists solve the problem of restenosis.

"Interfering with these factors and the signaling pathways involving STAT4 may be potentially important in atherosclerosis therapy," he said. "We may identify ways to reduce or block its effect and slow or stop the unwanted growth of cells."

He said that by finding the transcription factor, researchers can concentrate on modifying its pathway, and won't need to know which or how many genes it affects.



Publication: The work is reported in the August issue of Experimental and Molecular Pathology.
On the web: www.wfubmc.edu 

Advertise in this space for $10 per month. Contact us today.


Related CAD News
Pericytes from human leg veins may help with recovery after a myocardial infarction
No difference in graft patency between radial and saphenous vein grafts in CABG procedures
Nanoparticles - possible alternative to drug eluting stents
Heart stem/progenitor cells improve mouse heart function after a heart attack
Delayed enhancement cardiovascular magnetic resonance to detect non-Q wave heart attacks
Post-arrest survival better in high volume hospitals
New European guidelines on the management of ST segment elevation myocardial infarction
Bivalirudin during primary angioplasty better than heparin and glycoprotein IIb/IIIa inhibitors (GPI).
Intermittent hypoxic treatment for reduced myocardial infarction and lethal arrhythmias
MDCT accurate in detecting stenosis in calcified coronary artery plaque

Subscribe to CAD Newsletter

Enter your email address:


 Additional information about the news article
The study was funded by grants from the National Institutes of Health and Taisho Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd.. Co-researchers were Feng Guo, M.D., lead author, and Christopher Zarella, M.D., both with Wake Forest.

Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center is an academic health system comprised of North Carolina Baptist Hospital and Wake Forest University Health Sciences, which operates the university's School of Medicine. The system comprises 1,187 acute care, psychiatric, rehabilitation and long-term care beds and is consistently ranked as one of "America's Best Hospitals" by U.S. News & World Report.
 Feedback
For any corrections of factual information, to contact the editors or to send any medical news or health news press releases, use feedback form

Top of Page

 
Contact us

RxPG Online

Nerve

 

    Full Text RSS

© All rights reserved by RxPG Medical Solutions Private Limited (India)