Student research project
Supervisor(s): Dr Tin Kyaw and Professor Alex Bobik
Our evidence-based proposal is built on "a simple yet powerful concept" — delivering the right treatment at the right time for long-lasting effects (a short therapy during a heart attack to reduce infarct size and lower chronic heart failure risk).
Project summary
Infarct size is a critical determinant of heart failure risk in patients who survive a heart attack; notably, each 5 per cent increase in infarct size is associated with a 20% increase in the risk of heart failure. The loss of cardiomyocytes directly affects infarct size. Importantly, this loss extends beyond the ischemic zones, impacting the peri-ischemic areas as well. We have identified the pivotal role of the stress-induced death signal, retinoic acid early inducible-1 (Rae-1), in mediating interactions with cytotoxic lymphocytes, which leads to the elimination of stressed cardiomyocytes. Here, various immunotherapies will be employed to target the stress signal in heart attack.