Finding new ways to treat artery disease before heart attacks and strokes

Miguel Ángel del Pozo

Centro Nacional de Investigaciones Cardiovasculares Carlos III (F.S.P.), Spain

Atherosclerosis is the abnormal buildup of fatty deposits inside artery walls, which leads to heart attacks and strokes, the leading cause of death globally. Existing treatments can slow disease progression. However, because they do not reverse the damage, the arteries continue narrowing and stiffening, so that heart attacks and strokes continue to occur under best current therapies. This project investigates how artery disease develops and progresses with the objective of reducing its burden worldwide.

The project integrates data from laboratory studies, disease models and patients, to study chemical changes affecting protein function inside the wall of diseased blood vessels. The goal is to identify molecular processes involved in inflammation, vascular-cell movement, vessel stiffness and plaque stability. A multidisciplinary team with expertise in vascular biology, clinical vascular surgery, pathology, molecular medicine, data analysis and computational modelling will help connect biological findings with specific clinical outcomes.

Understanding the mechanisms that make atherosclerosis plaques more dangerous could reveal new diagnostic markers and therapeutic targets. Different from current systemic lipid-lowering therapies, they aim to identify local targets in the artery wall. This will help improve prevention and treatment strategies to reduce the burden of heart attack and stroke.

• Schwartz Martin, Karolinska Institutet, Sweden

• Ljubica Matic, Yale University, New Haven, CT, United States of America

Post-Translational Protein Modifications as novel drivers and therapeutic targets in Atherosclerosis

€999,828.89