CureHeart researchers publish new study on heart scaring in cardiomyopathy

This week saw the publication of a manuscript in Science Translational Medicine from CureHeart researcher Ying-Jie Wang, working with Scientific Director Prof Hugh Watkins, and with input from the Seidman group. It is the first study to identify and sub-categorize immune cell infiltration in a mouse model of cardiomyopathy. This is significant because immune cell infiltration is thought to significantly contribute to scaring in the heart. The study goes on to show that a certain type of white blood cell (regulatory T-lymphocytes) can slow scar replacement (fibrosis) in the hearts of individuals carrying cardiomyopathy disease causing variants. Importantly it also provides the first evidence that we can prevent and even regress fibrosis by modifying the immune cell response with immune cell interacting agents like interleukin 2 during cardiac remodelling.  

The study is hugely important to CureHeart, as it will stand alongside efforts to prevent patients (with known gene changes) from developing cardiomyopathy with genetic therapies, and enable us to dissect ways we can repair the scar damage to the heart in patients with established disease. We hope this is a big step to providing a more comprehensive treatment for all patients with inherited heart conditions.