PRESS-NEWS.org - Press Release Distribution
PRESS RELEASES DISTRIBUTION

Novel protein in heart muscle linked to cardiac short-circuiting and sudden cardiac deaths

Researchers at NYU Langone Medical Center identify adverse effects of disruption of Pcp4 gene

2014-10-09
(Press-News.org) NEW YORK, NY – Cardiovascular scientists at NYU Langone Medical Center have identified in mouse models a protein known as Pcp4 as a regulator of the heart's rhythm. Additionally, when the Pcp4 gene is disrupted, it can cause ventricular arrhythmias.

Results from this animal study were released online Oct. 8 in the peer-reviewed publication, The Journal of Clinical Investigation.

"This study demonstrates that Purkinje cell protein-4 (Pcp4) is not only important in maintaining the heart's normal rhythmic behavior, but that when Pcp4 expression is reduced, it short-circuits electrical activity in a small but critical population of cells in the heart muscle, leading to cardiac arrhythmias," said Glenn I. Fishman, MD, William Goldring Professor of Medicine and Director of the Leon H. Charney Division of Cardiology at NYU Langone, and the study's senior author. "We see increased morbidity and mortality when Pcp4 expression is abnormal in our animal models, including ventricular arrhythmias and sudden cardiac death."

Using mouse models of cardiomyopathy and fluorescent tags, the research team was able to isolate cardiac Purkinje cells and show that Pcp4 expression was down-regulated in the diseased hearts, producing electrical abnormalities that increased their susceptibility to arrhythmias. Investigators also found Pcp4 in cardiac ganglia, where it also influences the heart's rhythm and modulates heart rate control. "Now that we know that Pcp4 is an important regulator of the heart's rhythm, it could serve as an important drug target for treating arrhythmias," added Dr. Fishman. "Although much work remains to be done, our data suggest that drugs that mimic Pcp4's action in the heart could potentially stabilize the heart's rhythm."

According to the American Heart Association, an estimated 2.7 million Americans are living with arrhythmias. People with arrhythmias can be treated with a surgical procedure, such as getting a pacemaker, implantable defibrillator or a cardiac ablation, or by delivering a shock with external defibrillators. Ablations are effective but limited to specific types of rhythm abnormalities. Drug therapies have fallen out of favor because of side effects. The NYU Langone research team believes that with better understanding of the molecular behavior underpinning arrhythmias, more targeted drugs are on the horizon.

INFORMATION:

Eugene E. Kim and Akshay Shekhar led the study. Jia Lu, Xianming Lin, Fang-Yu Liu, Jie Zhang, and Mario Delmar were additional study co-authors.

This work was supported by grants from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to Dr. Fishman (R01HL105983) and Akshay Shekhar (T32 GM066704 (Bach).

About NYU Langone Medical Center NYU Langone Medical Center, a world-class, patient-centered, integrated academic medical center, is one of the nation's premier centers for excellence in clinical care, biomedical research, and medical education. Located in the heart of Manhattan, NYU Langone is composed of four hospitals — Tisch Hospital, its flagship acute care facility; Rusk Rehabilitation; the Hospital for Joint Diseases, the Medical Center's dedicated inpatient orthopaedic hospital; and Hassenfeld Children's Hospital, a comprehensive pediatric hospital supporting a full array of children's health services across the Medical Center — plus the NYU School of Medicine, which since 1841 has trained thousands of physicians and scientists who have helped to shape the course of medical history. The Medical Center's tri-fold mission to serve, teach, and discover is achieved 365 days a year through the seamless integration of a culture devoted to excellence in patient care, education, and research. For more information, go to http://www.NYULMC.org, and interact with us on Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube.

Media Contact Allison Clair
212 .404.3753│allison.clair@nyumc.org



ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:

Patient's dramatic response and resistance to cancer drug traced to unsuspected mutations

Patients dramatic response and resistance to cancer drug traced to unsuspected mutations
2014-10-09
BOSTON – The DNA of a woman whose lethal thyroid cancer unexpectedly "melted away" for 18 months has revealed new mechanisms of cancer response and resistance to the drug everolimus, said researchers from Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard. The investigators discovered two previously unknown mutations in the cancer's DNA. One made the woman's cancer extraordinarily sensitive to everolimus, accounting for the remarkably long-lasting response. The second mutation was found in the DNA of her tumor after it had evolved resistance ...

Gene therapy shows promise for severe combined immunodeficiency

2014-10-09
WHAT: Researchers have found that gene therapy using a modified delivery system, or vector, can restore the immune systems of children with X-linked severe combined immunodeficiency (SCID-X1), a rare, life-threatening inherited condition that primarily affects boys. Previous efforts to treat SCID-X1 with gene therapy were initially successful, but approximately one-quarter of the children developed leukemia two to five years after treatment. Results from a study partially funded by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), a component of the National ...

Skin exposure may contribute to early risk for food allergies

2014-10-09
(NEW YORK – October 08, 2014) Many children may become allergic to peanuts before they first eat them, and skin exposure may be contribute to early sensitization, according to a study in mice led by Mount Sinai researchers and published today in the Journal of Clinical Investigation. Early in the process of developing an allergy, skin exposure to food allergens contributes to "sensitization", which means the skin is reactive to an antigen, such as peanuts, especially by repeated exposure. The question of how peanut allergies start is an important one, given the ...

Designing rivers: environmental flows for ecosystem services in rivers natural and novel

2014-10-09
Last spring, the Colorado River reached its delta for the first time in 16 years, flowing into Pacific Ocean at the Gulf of California after wetting 70 miles of long-dry channels through the Sonoran Desert. The planned 8-week burst of water from Mexico's Morelos Dam on the Arizona-Mexico border was the culmination of years of diplomatic negotiations between the United States and Mexico and campaigning from scientists and conservation organizations. Now ecologists wait to see how the short drink of water will affect the parched landscape. This year's spring pulse held ...

More appropriate use of cardiac stress testing with imaging could reduce health costs

2014-10-09
New York City – October 8, 2014 – In a new study recently published in the Annals of Internal Medicine, researchers at NYU Langone Medical Center concluded that overuse of cardiac stress testing with imaging has led to rising healthcare costs and unnecessary radiation exposure to patients. In what is believed to be the first comprehensive examination of trends in cardiac stress testing utilizing imaging, researchers also showed that there are no significant racial or ethnic health disparities in its use. They also made national estimates of the cost of ...

Healthy lifestyle may cut stroke risk in half for women

2014-10-08
MINNEAPOLIS – Women with a healthy diet and lifestyle may be less likely to have a stroke by more than half, according to a study published in the October 8, 2014, online issue of Neurology®, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology. The study looked at five factors that make up a healthy lifestyle: healthy diet; moderate alcohol consumption; never smoking; physically active; and healthy body mass index (BMI). Compared with women with none of the five healthy factors, women with all five factors had a 54-percent lower risk of stroke. "Because ...

Study finds early signs of heart trouble in obese youth

2014-10-08
WASHINGTON (Oct. 8, 2014) — A study that used two-dimensional echocardiography to closely examine the hearts of 100 children and teens found physical and functional signs of future heart problems already developing in obese children. In the study, published online today in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology, researchers from the University of Leipzig Heart Center in Leipzig, Germany, performed the echocardiograms on 61 obese children and 40 non-obese children ages 9 to 16. The two-dimensional echocardiogram uses ultrasound to provide cross sectional ...

Support for Medicaid expansion strong among low-income adults

2014-10-08
Boston, MA — Low-income adults overwhelmingly support Medicaid expansion and think the government-sponsored program offers health care coverage that is comparable to or even better in quality than private health insurance coverage, according to a new study from Harvard School of Public Health (HSPH) researchers. The study appears online October 8, 2014 in Health Affairs. (The study will be available online after the embargo lifts at http://content.healthaffairs.org/lookup/doi/10.1377/hlthaff.2014.0747.) "In the debate over whether or not states should participate ...

Study looks at cardiometabolic risk, schizophrenia and antipsychotic treatment

2014-10-08
Bottom Line: The duration of psychiatric illness and treatment for patients after first-episode schizophrenia spectrum disorders (FES) appears to be associated with being fatter and having other cardiometabolic abnormalities. Authors: Christoph U. Correll, M.D., of the North Shore-LIJ Health System, the Zucker Hillside Hospital, Glen Oaks, N.Y., and colleagues. Background: FES is associated with higher death rates and the vast majority of premature deaths in this group are related to cardiovascular illness and obesity-related cancers. Patients with FES require attention ...

Increased health risks linked to first-episode psychosis

2014-10-08
Many patients with psychosis develop health risks associated with premature death early in the course of their mental illness, researchers have found. Patients with schizophrenia are already known to have higher rates of premature death than the general population. The study found that elevated risks of heart disease and metabolic issues such as high blood sugar in people with first episode psychosis are due to an interaction of mental illness, unhealthy lifestyle behaviors and antipsychotic medications that may accelerate these risks. Patients entered treatment with ...

LAST 30 PRESS RELEASES:

Thirty-year mystery of dissonance in the “ringing” of black holes explained

Less intensive works best for agricultural soil

Arctic rivers project receives “national champion” designation from frontiers foundation

Computational biology paves the way for new ALS tests

Study offers new hope for babies born with opioid withdrawal syndrome

UT, Volkswagen Group of America celebrate research partnership

New Medicare program could dramatically improve affordability for cancer drugs – if patients enroll

Are ‘zombie’ skin cells harmful or helpful? The answer may be in their shapes

University of Cincinnati Cancer Center presents research at AACR 2025

Head and neck, breast, lung and survivorship studies headline Dana-Farber research at AACR Annual Meeting 2025

AACR: Researchers share promising results from MD Anderson clinical trials

New research explains why our waistlines expand in middle age

Advancements in muon detection: Taishan Antineutrino Observatory's innovative top veto tracker

Chips off the old block

Microvascular decompression combined with nerve combing for atypical trigeminal neuralgia

Cutting the complexity from digital carpentry

Lung immune cell type “quietly” controls inflammation in COVID-19

Fiscal impact of expanded Medicare coverage for GLP-1 receptor agonists to treat obesity

State and sociodemographic trends in US cigarette smoking with future projections

Young adults drive historic decline in smoking

NFCR congratulates Dr. Robert C. Bast, Jr. on receiving the AACR-Daniel D. Von Hoff Award for Outstanding Contributions to Education and Training in Cancer Research

Chimpanzee stem cells offer new insights into early embryonic development

This injected protein-like polymer helps tissues heal after a heart attack

FlexTech inaugural issue launches, pioneering interdisciplinary innovation in flexible technology

In Down syndrome mice, 40Hz light and sound improve cognition, neurogenesis, connectivity

Methyl eugenol: potential to inhibit oxidative stress, address related diseases, and its toxicological effects

A vascularized multilayer chip reveals shear stress-induced angiogenesis in diverse fluid conditions

AI helps unravel a cause of Alzheimer's disease and identify a therapeutic candidate

Coalition of Autism Scientists critiques US Department of Health and Human Services Autism Research Initiative

Structure dictates effectiveness, safety in nanomedicine

[Press-News.org] Novel protein in heart muscle linked to cardiac short-circuiting and sudden cardiac deaths
Researchers at NYU Langone Medical Center identify adverse effects of disruption of Pcp4 gene