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

Molecule involved in heart failure now implicated in heart attack damage

2010-09-16
(Press-News.org) (PHILADELPHIA) A molecule known to be involved in progressive heart failure has now been shown to also lead to permanent damage after a heart attack, according to researchers at Thomas Jefferson University.

To prove this novel conclusion, the research team used gene therapy to inhibit the small protein, kinase known as G protein-coupled receptor kinase 2 (GRK2), and found heart muscles cells in mice were substantially protected against destruction that would otherwise occur after an induced myocardial infarction (MI), or heart attack.

Conversely, mice engineered to express excess GRK2 had more damage than would have been expected after an MI, the researchers say in the article currently found online at Circulation Research and to be published in the October 29th issue.

These finding suggest that humans experiencing a heart attack might be helped with delivery of a therapeutic targeting inhibition of GRK2, says Walter J. Koch, Ph.D., Director of the Center for Translation Medicine at Jefferson.

"Our results clearly show that GRK2 promotes cell death after a heart attack, so an inhibitor of this molecule is likely beneficial in preventing permanent damage, if delivered quickly enough," he says. "Currently, we have a gene therapy approach but for this indication a small molecule would be preferred." Dr. Koch says that while it may be years before this concept can be tested in patients experiencing an MI, he expects anti-GRK2 gene therapy will be tested in patients with heart failure much sooner. A Phase I clinical trial for GRK2-targeted gene therapy is preparing to be launched, pending federal approval.

Dr. Koch and his colleagues have been working for 15 years to link GRK2 to heart failure in patients. They have demonstrated that the protein puts a brake on the beta-adrenergic receptors that respond to hormones (adrenalin and noradrenalin) that drive the heart beat – the rate and force of contractile function in heart cells. This braking action is enhanced in chronic heart failure, and relieving it by inhibiting activity and expression of GRK2 allows the heart to work better, the researchers have shown in animal studies using gene therapy.

The question they looked at in this study is whether GRK2 plays any role after a heart attack. Most cardiology researchers theorized that it was protective, because expression of the protein is increased by three to four times immediately after a heart attack, Dr. Koch says. "People always thought that GRK2 was working to shut off beta receptors because injured hearts were pumping out too much adrenaline, and that this blocking of over activity in an injured heart is protective."

But what the researchers discovered is that over production of GRK2 following a heart attack actually stimulates pro-death pathways in myocyctes (heart cells) outside of the initial zone of damage. They specifically found an inverse link between GRK2 activity and the production of nitric oxide (NO), a molecular messenger that protects the heart against damage caused by a sudden loss of blood. "When there is more GRK2, there is less NO, and vice versa," Dr. Koch says. They believe that GRK2 may be affecting NO production by inhibiting the prosurvival protein kinase Akt, which itself regulates NO. (more)

The mice MI studies then proved that inhibiting GRK2 protected heart cells, Dr. Koch says.

"Our results clearly show that GRK2 is a pathological target in the heart, involved in both progressive heart failure and in death of heart cells after a heart attack," he says.

### The study was supported in part from grants from the National Institutes of Health and the American Heart Association.

END



ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:

3 NASA satellites seek clues to Hurricane Julia's rapid intensification

3 NASA satellites seek clues to Hurricane Julias rapid intensification
2010-09-16
Hurricane Julia intensified rapidly overnight and is now a Category 4 hurricane on the Saffir-Simpson Scale and NASA's Aqua, Terra and TRMM satellites captured clues as they passed over her from space. The Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM) satellite passed over intensifying hurricane Julia during the afternoon of Sept. 14 and captured very heavy rain falling at 1807 UTC (2:07 p.m. EDT). That heavy rainfall was a clue that she would intensify overnight, and today, Sept. 15, she has become a Category Four hurricane on the Saffir-Simpson Scale. TRMM's Precipitation ...

What can health-care facilities do to help patients better understand medical information

What can health-care facilities do to help patients better understand medical information
2010-09-16
COLUMBIA, Mo. – Studies show that nearly half of all Americans have difficulty understanding health information. Confusing medical directions, such as dosage and timing of prescription medicine, can lead to serious consequences including health setbacks, inappropriate hospital admissions and, sometimes, death. Now, researchers at the University of Missouri School of Health Professions are examining what health care facilities can do to increase patient understanding and positive outcomes. Diane Smith, an assistant professor in MU's Department of Occupational Therapy ...

New study finds milk drinkers may have a healthy weight advantage

2010-09-16
Now there's a new reason to grab a glass of milk when you're on diet, suggests a new study published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. In a 2-year weight loss study, milk drinkers had an advantage over those who skipped the milk. Israeli researchers found that adults who drank the most milk (nearly 2 glasses per day) and had the highest vitamin D levels at 6 months, lost more weight after 2 years than those who had little or no milk or milk products -- nearly 12 pounds weight loss, on average. Researchers also found that each additional 6-ounce serving of ...

New wave: Spin soliton could be a hit in cell phone communication

New wave: Spin soliton could be a hit in cell phone communication
2010-09-16
VIDEO: This animation shows the development of the soliton over the course of about 2.7 nanoseconds. Current begins passing through the channel in the center, causing the magnetization to oscillate.... Click here for more information. Researchers at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) have found theoretical evidence* of a new way to generate the high-frequency waves used in modern communication devices such as cell phones. Their analysis, if supported ...

Rice study examines how bacteria acquire immunity

2010-09-16
HOUSTON -- (Sept. 15, 2010) -- In a new study this week, Rice University scientists bring the latest tools of computational biology to bear in examining how the processes of natural selection and evolution influence the way bacteria acquire immunity from disease. The study is available online from Physical Review Letters. It builds upon one of the major discoveries made possible by molecular genetics in the past decade -- the revelation that bacteria and similar single-celled organisms have an acquired immune system. "From a purely scientific perspective, this research ...

Research shows radiometric dating still reliable (again)

2010-09-16
Recent puzzling observations of tiny variations in nuclear decay rates have led some to question the science of using decay rates to determine the relative ages of rocks and organic materials. Scientists from the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), working with researchers from Purdue University, the University of Tennessee, Oak Ridge National Laboratory and Wabash College, tested the hypothesis that solar radiation might affect the rate at which radioactive elements decay and found no detectable effect. Atoms of radioactive isotopes are unstable and ...

Children's brain development is linked to physical fitness

Childrens brain development is linked to physical fitness
2010-09-16
CHAMPAIGN, lll. – Researchers have found an association between physical fitness and the brain in 9- and 10-year-old children: Those who are more fit tend to have a bigger hippocampus and perform better on a test of memory than their less-fit peers. The new study, which used magnetic resonance imaging to measure the relative size of specific structures in the brains of 49 child subjects, appears in the journal Brain Research. "This is the first study I know of that has used MRI measures to look at differences in brain between kids who are fit and kids who aren't fit," ...

NIST data: Enabling the technical-basis for evacuation planning of high-rise buildings

2010-09-16
Researchers at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) are stepping up the pace for designing safer building evacuations by releasing large, numerical data sets that track the movement of people on stairs during high-rise building evacuation drills. The data sets will ensure that architects, engineers, emergency planners and others involved in building design have a strong technical basis for safer, more cost-effective building evacuations. "While stairs have been used in buildings for ages, there is little scientific understanding of how people use ...

New GSI website experience puts product standards on the map

2010-09-16
Those looking for the latest product standards-related news, regulatory developments, events and workshops around the world now can turn to the new Global Standards Information (GSI) Web site (http://gsi.nist.gov). Launched on Sept. 1, 2010, the new site includes a variety of interactive tools and will serve as an essential "first stop" for users seeking up-to-date information on international product standards. "Given the rapid adoption and complexity of new product standards both locally and globally, we realized we needed to create a new way for our customers to find ...

NIST finalizes initial set of smart grid cyber security guidelines

2010-09-16
The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) has issued its first Guidelines for Smart Grid Cyber Security, which includes high-level security requirements, a framework for assessing risks, an evaluation of privacy issues at personal residences, and additional information for businesses and organizations to use as they craft strategies to protect the modernizing power grid from attacks, malicious code, cascading errors and other threats. The product of two formal public reviews and the focus of numerous workshops and teleconferences over the past 17 months, ...

LAST 30 PRESS RELEASES:

Sugar, the hidden thermostat in plants

Personality can explain why some CEOs earn higher salaries

This puzzle game shows kids how they’re smarter than AI

Study suggests remembrances of dead played role in rise of architecture in Andean region

Brain stimulation can boost math learning in people with weaker neural connections

Inhibiting enzyme could halt cell death in Parkinson’s disease, study finds

Neurotechnology reverses biological disadvantage in maths learning

UNDER EMBARGO: Neurotechnology reverses biological disadvantage in maths learning

Scientists target ‘molecular machine’ in the war against antimicrobial resistance

Extending classical CNOP method for deep-learning atmospheric and oceanic forecasting

Aston University research: Parents should encourage structure and independence around food to support children’s healthy eating

Thunderstorms are a major driver of tree death in tropical forests

Danforth Plant Science Center adds two new faculty members

Robotic eyes mimic human vision for superfast response to extreme lighting

Racial inequities and access to COVID-19 treatment

Residential segregation and lung cancer risk in African American adults

Scientists wipe out aggressive brain cancer tumors by targeting cellular ‘motors’

Capturability distinction analysis of continuous and pulsed guidance laws

CHEST expands Bridging Specialties Initiative to include NTM disease and bronchiectasis on World Bronchiectasis Day

Exposure to air pollution may cause heart damage

SwRI, UTSA selected by NASA to test electrolyzer technology aboard parabolic flight

Prebiotics might be a factor in preventing or treating issues caused by low brain GABA

Youngest in class at higher risk of mental health problems

American Heart Association announces new volunteer leaders for 2025-26

Gut microbiota analysis can help catch gestational diabetes

FAU’s Paulina DeVito awarded prestigious NSF Graduate Research Fellowship

Champions for change – Paid time off initiative just made clinical trials participation easier

Fentanyl detection through packaging

Prof. Eran Meshorer elected to EMBO for pioneering work in epigenetics

New 3D glacier visualizations provide insights into a hotter Earth

[Press-News.org] Molecule involved in heart failure now implicated in heart attack damage