Hematopoietic Cytokines For The Repair Of Myocardial Infarction
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$334,375.00
Summary
Heart attacks remain one of the most common causes of heart failure. Unlike many other tissues such as the skin or bone marrow, the heart is unable to repair itself following a heart attack. Recently it has been recognised that bone marrow cells can to a small degree repair the heart. How this is done is not known but it may be due to the formation of new blood vessels and perhaps new heart muscle. Unfortunately, the repair by bone marrow cells is not very efficient. One way of improving the eff ....Heart attacks remain one of the most common causes of heart failure. Unlike many other tissues such as the skin or bone marrow, the heart is unable to repair itself following a heart attack. Recently it has been recognised that bone marrow cells can to a small degree repair the heart. How this is done is not known but it may be due to the formation of new blood vessels and perhaps new heart muscle. Unfortunately, the repair by bone marrow cells is not very efficient. One way of improving the efficiency of heart repair by bone marrow cells is to give people bone marrow growth factors that increase the number of bone marrow cells in the blood and thus, increase the number at the site of heart injury. Our preliminary research shows that this is the case although the efficiency of repair is still not enough as a useful therapy. This project will examine how bone marrow growth factors improve heart repair following heart attacks and explore ways of improving the efficiency of repair to permit trials in humans.Read moreRead less
The Critical Roles Of Heme Oxygenase-1 In The Response To Ischemia
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$690,593.00
Summary
Heme oxygenase-1 is a protein that recycles our body's iron which itself is essential for life because it is needed for the sensing, transport and use of oxygen we breath. The current project investigates a novel interplay between heme oxygenase-1 and our body’s major response to tissue oxygen becoming limited. By doing so, our project may provide the basis for novel treatments of conditions where arteries are obstructed, such as those that lead to heart attack and amputation.