Inflammatory Heart Protein May Be Drug Target

Heart disease researchers have identified a gene linked to the production of an inflammatory protein critically involved in the development of ischemic heart disease (IHD).

Previous research had shown that inflammation mediated by monocyte chemoattractant protein-1 (MCP-1) played a critical role in the development of IHD. However, the molecular events caused by MCP-1 binding to its receptor CCR2, and their possible role in the development of IHD was not understood.

Investigators at the University of Central Florida (Orlando, USA) worked with a mouse model that mimicked human IHD. Initially, they showed that MCP-1 binding to CCR2 induced a novel transcription factor (MCP-induced protein [MCPIP]) that caused cell death. Expression of MCP-1 in muscle fiber in mice caused death by heart failure at six months of age. MCPIP expression increased in parallel with the development of ventricular dysfunction. In situ hybridization revealed the presence of MCPIP transcripts in muscle fiber, and immunohistochemistry showed that MCPIP was associated with the nuclei of apoptotic heart cells.

The authors wrote in the May 12, 2006, issue of Circulation that, "These results provide a molecular insight into how chronic inflammation and exposure to MCP-1 contributes to heart failure and suggest that MCPIP could be a potential target for therapeutic intervention.”



Related Links:
University of Central Florida