NIH Reporter #5R01HL146626-08

Regulation of cardiac pacemaker cell cytoarchitecture

The NIH awarded a grant to the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill to study the regulation of cardiac pacemaker cell cytoarchitecture. The project focuses on molecular pathways and cell interactions that maintain cardiac pacemaker cell function, with implications for understanding disease and developing biological pacing therapies.

Description

This project aims to define the molecular pathways that produce a microenvironmental niche around cardiac pacemaker cells (CPCs) that minimizes cellular strain, which is essential for their function. The study will investigate the mechano-paracrine feedback loop that co-regulates CPC behavior and support cells, influencing tissue mechanics and CPC activity. The research will focus on three aims: defining molecular pathways integrating mechanical feedback within CPCs, identifying paracrine factors maintaining CPC-interstitial cell crosstalk, and examining changes in CPC-interstitial interactions during aging or pathological remodeling. The outcomes are expected to advance understanding of CPC development, disease progression, and inform tissue engineering approaches for biological pacing systems.

View original record