Raising the pulse of
cardiovascular research
In Spring 2008 King’s College London became one
of the British Heart Foundation’s new flagship Centres
of Research Excellence. The £9 million award over
six years recognises King’s as a cornerstone of UK
heart disease research.
The BHF initiative will allow Kings’ researchers, as well as scientists at the
other three Centres of Excellence, to translate research into benefits for the
millions of people living with heart disease.
The King’s award – the largest of its kind – will help its researchers jumpstart innovative research projects, train the very best young doctors and
scientists to become the next generation of heart researchers, and foster
pioneering partnerships between heart specialists and other experts such
as engineers and physicists across the university.
New projects will build on cutting-edge research already taking place
at King’s and range from studying the minute components of heart cells
to developing new ways of monitoring blood flow through the human heart
and regenerating heart tissue. The award will also allow King’s successful
multi-disciplinary and collaborative research approach to flourish;
something that Drs Elisabeth Ehler and Manual Mayr in the Cardiovascular
Division are certain is crucial for the success of their research.
Cardiovascular Division
The Cardiovascular Division pursues internationally
leading translational research programmes that address
fundamental molecular, cellular, and physiological
mechanisms underlying normal and abnormal cardiovascular
function with the aims of improving the prevention, diagnosis
and treatment of human cardiovascular disease.
Rat heart cell in culture stained
by immunofluorescence
for its beating structures,
the myofibrils.
20 Milestones
The division comprises 160 researchers (including 35 principal
investigators 60 PhD/MD students) whose work is focused
on the mechanisms and treatment of cardiovascular disease.
The division has strong collaborations with groupings focussed
on imaging, structural biology and genetics.
Image: Dr Elisabeth Ehler
profile
Analysing the
heart’s hardware
Dr Elisabeth Ehler is
fascinated by how heart
muscle is built and uses
cutting-edge microscopic
techniques to study the
minute detail of protein
interactions within
developing heart tissue.
‘I am interested in the
‘hardware’ of the heart cell
and how it is built during
embryonic development.’
She believes that
understanding how the
heart develops will allow
researchers to identify
changes to heart cells that
coincide with heart disease.
This might in future allow
doctors to detect changes
very early in the disease
process and intervene to
prevent long-term damage.
Ehler is focussing on
two major components
of heart muscle cells; the
contractile myofibril, and
intercalated discs that
facilitate communication
between cells and help
configure the heart tissue.
At present the minute detail
that Ehler is studying can
only be visualised using
electron microscopy which
means treating the heart
tissue in a way that destroys
a lot of information. But as
Ehler says, that’s where she
comes in.
She is looking for new ways
to visualise cells and proteins
in tissue samples from
hearts at different stages
of development or disease.
Her team, in collaboration
with scientists in the Randall
Division of Cell and Molecular
biophysics is developing and
using exciting new imaging
techniques that should push
the resolution limit in light
microscopy towards the one
in electron microscopy.
‘We want to be able to look
at specimens that are as
close to their natural state
as possible, and even at
living cells.’ The new BHF
award will help Ehler realise
her vision by providing
financial support for
research students and staff,
and enhancing collaborations
across Divisions.
Using mighty
machines to study
proteins and
metabolism
Like Ehler, Dr Manuel Mayr,
Head of Proteomics at King’s
is certain that understanding
minute physical changes
associated with heart
disease will help
us find ways to tackle
the UK’s biggest killer.
He is looking at changes
to the body’s proteins and
metabolism that should
help us understand how the
heart and blood vessels
function and fail. In addition,
he is exploring how stem
cells differentiate into
cardiovascular cells.
Thanks to a unique
proteomics facility
established in 2007, Mayr
and colleagues are exploiting
state-of-the-art technologies
to work out just which
proteins and metabolites can
be linked to heart disease.
A third of patients undergoing
heart bypass surgery and
valve surgery develop
complications including
an irregular heart beat
that hinders their return to
health and can contribute
to premature death. In an
exciting new study1, Mayr
has found that by analysing
proteins and metabolites
in human heart tissue at the
time of surgery, changes in
energy metabolism can be
detected that correlate with
the heart’s susceptibility to
post-operative complications.
But as Mayr explains,
proteomics and
metabolomics are emerging
fields and new methods
to analyse proteins and
other metabolites in ever
finer detail are still being
developed. And, he says,
this is what makes work
at King’s unique: ‘At King’s
the proteomics facility is
devoted to cardiovascular
research, it is not a core
facility. The people who
run the facility understand
the machines as well as
the biology of heart
disease. This is crucial
for successfully applying
proteomic techniques
to biomedical research.’
1
M. Mayr et al. Journal of
American College of Cardiology,
2008, 51:585-594
Milestones
21