Alexander Sparrow

Background and research interests

My research combines understanding the molecular mechanisms of inherited cardiomyopathies and developing genetic therapies.  As a senior postdoctoral researcher on CureHeart, I am developing innovative gene editing tools to correct the genetic variants that cause inherited cardiomyopathies.

I have studied inherited genetic variants in genes that encode for proteins involved in the pathogenesis of hypertrophic (HCM) and dilated (DCM) cardiomyopathy.  My work has developed myofilament specific genetically encoded calcium sensors for the study of subcellular calcium dynamics in cardiomyocytes expressing HCM and DCM mutations.

My work utilises human induced pluripotent stem cell (hiPSC) derived cardiomyocytes as a cellular model when investigating inherited cardiomyopathies and testing genetic therapies.

Publications

Sparrow, AJ, Sievert K, Patel S, Chang Y-F, Broyles CN, Brook FA, Watkins H, Geeves MA, Redwood CS, Robinson P, Daniels MJ (2019).  Measurement of Myofilament-Localized Calcium Dynamics in Adult Cardiomyocytes and the Effect of Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy Mutations.  Circ Res. 2019 April 12;124(8):1228-1239.  doi: 10.1161/CIRCRESAHA.118.314600

Sparrow AJ, Watkins H, Daniels MJ, Redwood C, Robinson P (2020.  Mavacantem rescues increased myofilament calcium sensitivity and dysregulation of Ca2+ flux caused by thin filament hypertrophic cardiomyopathy mutations.  Am J Physiol Heart Circ Physiol.  2020 March 1;318(3):H715-722.  doi: 101.1152/ajpheart.00023.2020

Robinson P, Sparrow AJ, Patel S, Malinowska M, Reilly SN, Zhang Y-H, Casadei B, Watkins J, Redwood C. (2020).  Dilated cardiomyopathy mutations in thin-filament regulatory proteins reduce contractility, suppress systolic Ca2+, and activate NFAT and Akt signaling.  Am J Physiol Heart Circ Physiol.  2020 Aug 1;319(2):H306-H319. doi: 10.1152/ajpheart.00272.2020