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U.VA. SCIENTISTS AWARDED $8 MILLION NIH GRANT FOR CARDIOVASCULAR RESEARCHResearchers at the University of Virginia Health System received an $8 million, five-year grant from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) for a program to study how blood vessels develop and how their contractile activity is regulated. The long-term aim of the research is to better understand the causes of high blood pressure and coronary artery disease, which could eventually lead to new treatments.In this program, we expect to identify the groups of molecules that are responsible for muscle development, growth, gene expression, and contraction and relaxation in blood vessels. This should provide us with new targets for developing treatments for common cardiovascular diseases, said Avril Somlyo, professor of molecular physiology and biological physics and pathology and the principal investigator for this program. Part of the program will study a hormone, angiotensin II, which is known to stimulate cell growth. The researchers will try to understand how growth occurs in the normal development of the blood vessels in the embryo, and also in re-narrowing of arteries in patients who have had angioplasty, a procedure in which the blood flow to the heart is increased. We believe that understanding the signaling pathways that regulate blood vessel development and regrowth are a key to the development of new therapies, Somlyo said. Another area of exploration in the program is the mechanism and regulation of smooth muscle contraction and relaxation. When smooth muscle cells of blood vessels contract, the space within the vessel narrows, decreasing blood flow and increasing blood pressure. This is how people develop high blood pressure. In the study, investigators will try to determine what signals blood vessel muscles to contract or dilate. They will also examine how genes that regulate blood vessel development are copied. By isolating particular proteins that are known to play a role in this process and adding them to smooth muscle cells, the researcher can determine each protein's role in the process, Somlyo explained. The program consists of three projects conducted at U.Va. led by Somlyo, Gary Owens, professor of molecular physiology and biological physics, and Timothy Haystead, associate professor of pharmacology, and an additional project led by David Trentham at the National Institute for Medical Research in London. According to the American Heart Association, cardiovascular disease is responsible for more than 40 percent of all deaths in the U.S. One in five Americans suffers from high blood pressure, and coronary artery disease is the single leading cause of death in America today. April 20, 2000 |