An overview of the research goals, current research projects, and principal investigators of the Coronary & Valvular Heart Disease research theme. The Coronary & Valvular Heart Disease theme in CVS brings together basic and clinical scientists to study vascular function, injury and remodelling; vascular regeneration; myocardial injury, repair and remodelling; and myocardial regeneration. Studies range from transcriptional analysis, stem cells and cellular communication, through in vivo experimental models of CV disease, including model organisms; to clinical translation, big data, epidemiology and clinical trials, and include cutting edge clinical and pre-clinical structural, functional and molecular in vivo imaging (in collaboration with CINEMA theme). Coronary and Valvular Heart Disease Research Projects Current research projects within the Coronary & Valvular Heart Disease research theme at CVS. Coronary and Valvular Heart Disease Research Groups A list of the current PI-led Research Groups within the Coronary & Valvular Heart Disease research theme. Image Vascular function, injury, and remodelling Areas of interest include large and small vessel atherosclerotic disease, occlusive disease, angina, aortic aneurysm, peripheral vascular disease, pulmonary hypertension, vascular dementia and stroke. Coronary & Valvular Heart Disease projects around vascular injury and repair include investigation of miRNAs and pathological vascular remodelling (Baker VASCMIR project), the impact of air pollution (Miller air pollution projects) and engineered nanoparticles (Miller nanoparticle projects) on structural and functional remodelling, extracellular vesicles and intercellular communication in vascular disease (de la Cuesta project), computational analysis of lncRNAs in vascular disease (Rodor project) and novel imaging to identify ruptured and high-risk coronary artery plaques in patients with myocardial infarction (Dweck PRE-FFIR study). miRNAs and pathological vascular remodelling Impact of air pollution Impact of engineered nanoparticles Extracellular vesicles and intercellular communication in vascular disease Computational analysis of lncRNAs Novel imaging of myocardial infarction An example of an atherosclerotic plaque is shown below: HTML Vascular Regeneration Vascular regeneration to enhance perfusion in the setting of myocardial and limb ischaemia is a major focus within the Coronary & Valvular Heart Disease theme. A BHF Regenerative Medicine award supports the Centre for Vascular Regeneration, hosted in the Edinburgh CVS in collaboration with King’s College London, the University of Bristol, and Imperial College London. Areas of interest include therapeutic angiogenesis for heart failure, chronic limb ischaemia, diabetic complications, wound healing and neurodegeneration. Coronary & Valvular Heart Disease projects around vascular regeneration include: phenotypic analysis of miRNAs to promote vessel growth (Caporali miRNA project), epigenetic regulation of endothelial cell phenotype (Mitic project), EPC derived endothelial cell therapy (Baker cell therapy project) and endothelial cell origins during repair (Brittan project). Centre for Vascular Regeneration Phenotypic analysis of miRNAs to promote vessel growth Epigenetic regulation of endothelial cell phenotype EPC derived endothelial cell therapy Endothelial cell origins during repair Myocardial injury, repair, and remodelling Areas of interest include myocardial infarction (MI), valvular disease and chronic heart failure. Coronary & Valvular Heart Disease projects include investigation of biomarkers (Mills High STEACS project, Mills High sensitivity troponin and coronary heart disease project) and novel imaging (Newby/Spath project) for detection of cardiac injury, application of machine learning in MI to improve diagnosis, risk prediction, and treatment decisions (Mills machine learning project); therapeutic interventions to prevent the development of heart failure after MI (Gray translational project), imaging in experimental models (Gray imaging MI project) and novel imaging and therapeutic targeting of calcification (Dweck SALTIRE 2 project), fibrosis (Dweck Evolved project) in valvular disease, myocardial disease (Tavares Fibrosis Project) and inflammation (Tavares TSPO Project). Investigation of biomarkers Mills High STEACS project Mills High sensitivity troponin and coronary heart disease project Novel imaging for detection of cardiac injury Application of machine learning in myocardial infarction Therapeutic interventions to prevent the development of heart failure after MI Imaging in experimental models Novel imaging and therapeutic targeting of calcification Fibrosis in valvular disease PET imaging biomarkers of fibrosis Detection of Regional Cardiovascular Inflammation using PET Myocardial regeneration Although the adult mammalian heart is unable to efficiently regenerate following injury this does occur in zebrafish. Coronary & Valvular Heart Disease projects around cardiac regeneration are investigating mechanisms of zebrafish heart regeneration, including reactivation of ancestral heart regeneration programs (Minchin/Tandon project) and the role of inflammation (Denvir project), as well as mammalian cardiomyocyte epigenetic profiling (Pennings project) to better understand how to enhance myocardial regeneration in the adult heart. Reactivation of ancestral zebrafish heart regeneration programs The role of inflammation in enhancing myocardial regeneration Image This article was published on 2024-03-19
