05/10/2011

A research network with Catalan participation and in which have worked researchers from seven countries has discovered how to control cardiac hypertrophy, increased heart weight that may lead to heart failure, a major cause of death and disability worldwide. This study, which was coordinated by Dr. Stuart Cook group at the Medical Research Council in London and Dr. Daniel Sanchis from IRBLleida-University of Lleida, and which have collaborated researchers from Vall d'Hebron Research Institute (VHIR), UAB and the Platform for Applied Research in Laboratory Animal from Parc Científic of Barcelona (PRAAL-PCB), has identified EndoG as a protein responsible for maintaining the form and function of the heart and, therefore, its role as a fundamental regulator of cardiac hypertrophy.Despite the great therapeutic interest, so far are unknown mechanisms that control cardiac hypertrophy, what induces and how does the thickening of the heart happen, particularly when it does not respond to increased blood pressure. Therefore, if they could control the abnormal thickening of the heart, may reduce the risk of heart failure, improving the health of the patient. This discovery published today in Nature opens the door to Endogen as therapeutic target and as a key element in the analysis and prognosis of heart diseases.