Gene transfer improves function of aging hearts ...( t received the vector without the SERCA...)

Two days after the procedures, measurements were taken of the levels and activity of the SERCA2a protein and of a variety of cardiac functions. Both groups of aged rats that did not receive the SERCA2a gene showed the typical impairments in relaxation, compared with the adult rats, but no abnormalities in systolic function. In those aged rats that did receive the SERCA2a gene, diastolic function improved significantly, although some measurements did not return to the levels seen in adult rats.

"Currently treatment options for diastolic dysfunction are very limited," Hajjar says. "These results suggest possible avenues for treating this very significant problem that results from the aging process itself, rather than from a specific disease."

Hajjar's co-authors are Ulrich Schmidt, MD, PhD, first author; Federica del Monte, MD, PhD; Michael Miyamoto, MD; Takashi Matsui, MD, PhD, and Anthony Rosenzweig, MD, all of the MGH CVRC; and Judith Gwathmey, VMD, PhD, of Boston University Medical Center. The work was supported by grants from the National Institutes of Health, the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation and the American Federation of Aging Research.

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Contact: Susan McGreevey
smcgreevey@partners.org
617-724-2764
Massachusetts General Hospital
21-Feb-2000