HOME >> BIOLOGY >> NEWS
Jefferson scientists use gene therapy to reverse heart failure in animals

(PHILADELPHIA) Heart researchers at the Center for Translational Medicine at Jefferson Medical College have used gene therapy to reverse heart failure in animals. In addition, they found that this gene therapy strategy had "unique and additive effects" to currently used, standard heart failure drugs called beta-blockers.

Reporting in the American Heart Association journal Circulation, researchers led by Walter J. Koch, Ph.D., director of the Center for Translational Medicine and the George Zallie and Family Laboratory for Cardiovascular Gene Therapy in the Department of Medicine at Jefferson Medical College of Thomas Jefferson University in Philadelphia, used a virus to carry the gene for a protein, S100A1, into the heart cells of rats with heart failure. The virus expressed the S100A1 gene only in heart cells and not in other organs, essentially making it a tailored therapy. After 18 weeks, those animals that received the gene therapy had significantly improved heart function compared to animals that did not receive the treatment.

Specifically, the Koch team, including Patrick Most, M.D., and Joseph Rabinowitz, Ph.D., also in Jefferson's Center for Translational Medicine, experimentally produced heart failure in the animals, which is characterized by a dramatic reduction in the heart's pumping ability. The scientists then delivered a modified adeno-associated virus (AAV) that contained the S100A1 gene to the heart's coronary arteries with the help of a novel heart-specific "gene promoter" that enabled the gene to be present only in heart cells.

The rats with heart failure were then followed for another two months, when their heart pumping function was monitored again. The animals that received the gene therapy had significantly better heart-pumping abilities compared to the pre-gene therapy level, and overall, the S100A1-treated rats had improved heart health. The researchers found this in both individual heart cells and in the whole
'"/>

Contact: Steve Benowitz
steven.benowitz@jefferson.edu
215-955-5291
Thomas Jefferson University
23-May-2007


Page: 1 2 3

Related biology news :

1. Jefferson scientists patent dramatically improves
2. Marker predicts pancreatic cancer outcome after surgery, Jefferson surgeon finds
3. Tiny genes may increase cancer susceptibility, Jefferson scientists find
4. Jefferson researchers discovery may change thinking on how viruses invade the brain
5. Jefferson scientists identify protein key to breast cancer spread, potential new drug target
6. Jefferson scientists find rabies-based vaccine could be effective against HIV
7. Jefferson scientists uncover gene mutation that cuts colon polyps, may suppress cancer
8. Targeting the adrenal gland could be key strategy against heart failure, Jefferson scientists show
9. Jefferson scientists find guardian genes choices crucial to stopping cancer process
10. Jefferson researchers uncover new way nature turns genes on and off
11. Jefferson researchers develop combined procedure for uterine preservation in treating fibroids

Post Your Comments:
(Date:12/5/2013)... tourist activity, but a new study published online ... shows that already-imperilled iguanas are suffering further physiological ... tourists. , Charles Knapp, PhD, of the John ... the differences in physiological values and endoparasitic infection ... islands and those living on non-tourist-visited islands. They ...
(Date:12/5/2013)... Despite widespread fascination with sharks, the world,s oldest ocean ... deep dive into a great white shark,s genetic code ... effective it has barely changed since before dinosaurs roamed. ... endangered great white shark,s proteins involved in an array ... more closely than they do zebrafish, the quintessential fish ...
(Date:12/5/2013)... 115-million-year-old fossilized wasp from northeast Brazil presents a baffling ... which it lays its eggs, looks a lot like ... figs. The problem, researchers say, is that figs arose ... , A report of the findings appears ... wasp belongs to the Hymenoptera superfamily known as Chalcidoidea, ...
Breaking Biology News(10 mins):Feeding by tourists compromises health of already-endangered iguanas, study finds 2Feeding by tourists compromises health of already-endangered iguanas, study finds 3New genetic research finds shark, human proteins stunningly similar 2Ancient 'fig wasp' lived tens of millions of years before figs 2
(Date:12/6/2013)... December 05, 2013 Optical remote ... and long-term changes in coral reefs, deep-sea fisheries, ... about seismic activity, water conditions, and equipment functionality. ... Other Methods" , a new book authored by ... provides the background, basic principles, and insights on ...
(Date:12/5/2013)... Calif. , Dec. 5, 2013 /PRNewswire/ ... that the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office ... a composition of matter patent covering certain ... monoclonal antibody (mAb), KB004.  The allowed claims ... to the EphA3 receptor. ...
(Date:12/5/2013)... evolutionary engineering. These tiny birds can power all ... sugar contained in the floral nectar of their ... Toronto Scarborough shows they are equally adept at ... individual components of sugar; a unique trait other ... strategy that powers their high-energy lifestyle, maximizes fat ...
(Date:12/5/2013)... JERICHO, N.Y. , Dec. 5, 2013 /PRNewswire/-- Health ... of online healthcare compliance and competency training, today ... course, Health Plan Compliance: Fraud, Waste, and ... employees, contractors and vendors on detecting, correcting, and ... http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20061010/NYTU194LOGO ) Every year, ...
Breaking Biology Technology:New Ocean Sensing and Monitoring Brings Tutorial Approach to Latest Advances 2KaloBios Receives Notice of Allowance for Key Composition of Matter Patent Covering KBOO4 2KaloBios Receives Notice of Allowance for Key Composition of Matter Patent Covering KBOO4 3KaloBios Receives Notice of Allowance for Key Composition of Matter Patent Covering KBOO4 4Hummingbird metabolism unique in burning glucose and fructose equally 2HCCS Releases New Health Plan Compliance Online Training Course 2HCCS Releases New Health Plan Compliance Online Training Course 3
Cached News: