Student research project
Supervisor(s): Professor Judy de Haan, Professor Rebecca Ritchie and Dr Arpeeta Sharma
Research focus
This project will assess the protective effect of inflammasome inhibition on the development of cardiac injury in a diabetic setting.
Project summary
Diabetes increases the risk of heart failure by 2.5‐fold and leads to cardiac injury, including cardiac remodelling (hypertrophy) and/or cell death. Inflammation is a major driver of the diabetes-mediated injury seen in heart failure. Activation of the NLRP3-inflammasome accelerates the processing of pro-inflammatory cytokines such as IL-1β and IL-18, resulting in cardiomyocyte injury and death. This project will use newly identified inhibitors of the NLRP3-inflammasome to investigate whether inflammasome inhibition limits diabetic cardiac injury.
These preclinical studies will be performed in diabetic mouse models as well as tissue-cultured cells exposed to elevated glucose. Endpoints to be investigated include cardiomyocyte hypertrophy, cardiac fibrosis, inflammation and oxidative stress.
