2008

Three CVRC Faculty Receive Seed Grants from the Harvard Stem Cell Institute >>

Harvard University  l  5.01.08

From a pool of 70 applicants, the HSCI named 10 recipients of the 2008 Seed Grant awards. 3 of these 10 recipients are research's from the Cardiovascular Research Center. The CVRC's Caroline Burns received a grant to study Lineage Analysis of Cardiac Progenitor Cells in vivo, Zhong Wang received his grant for ATP-dependent chromatin remodeling in mouse and human ES cell pluripotency and Sean Wu for work in Functional biology of induced Pluripotent Stem Cell-Derived Organ.

The purpose of HSCI Seed Grants is to provide early funding for innovative projects in any field of stem cell research. The awards put particular emphasis on projects that might be difficult to fund from other sources, either because a project is considered to be "high risk/high reward" or because the research is ineligible for federal funding under the current federal restrictions on human embryonic stem cell research. Seed grants are open to any investigator with a Harvard affiliation.



Study Verifies that Cholesterol-Associated Gene Variants can Predict Cardiovascular Events »   

The New England Journal of Medicine  l   3.20.08

A study appearing in this week's New England Journal of Medicine confirms that a combination of gene variants previously associated with cholesterol levels does reflect patients' cholesterol levels and can signify increased risk of heart attack, stroke or sudden cardiac death.   

Cell Essay Explores Origins and Fates of Cardiovascular Progenitor Cells »

Cell   |   2.22.08

Multipotent cardiac progenitor cells are found in the fetal and adult heart of many mammalian species including humans and form as intermediates during the differentiation of embryonic stem cells. Despite similar biological properties, the molecular identities of these different cardiac progenitor cell populations appear to be distinct. Elucidating the origins and lineage relationships of these cell populations will accelerate clinical applications such as drug screening and cell therapy as well as shedding light on the pathogenic mechanisms underlying cardiac diseases.   



Six New Loci Associated with Blood Low-Density Lipoprotein Cholesterol, High-Density Lipoprotein Cholesterol or Triglycerides in Humans » »

Nature Genetics  l   1.13.08

Using new techniques for rapidly scanning the human genome, researchers have associated levels of cholesterol and triglycerides, two fats in the blood, to 18 genetic variants, six of which represent new DNA regions never before associated with the traits.

Cell First Known Small-Molecule Inhibitor of BMP Signaling » »   

Nature Chemical Biology   |  11.18.07


Paul Yu and other CVRC investigators Donna Y. Deng, Hideyuki Beppu, Charles C. Hong, Carol Lai, Stefan A. Hoyng, Noriko Kawai, and Kenneth D. Bloch also published a paper in the Journal of Biological Chemistry. In this paper the authors used the new compound to discern the function of various BMP receptors in the function of vascular smooth muscle cells, finding a critical role of signaling kinetics.


HHMI Grants Jaffer with an Early Career Award »   |  8.15.07

The award honors clinicians who made an early commitment to academic research by taking a year off from medical school and spending it in a lab. It will provide support to Farouc Jaffer's lab for five years.


Burroughs Wellcome Fund Grants Newton-Cheh with a Career Award for Medical Sciences»   |  5.16.07

CVRC researcher Dr. Christopher Newton-Cheh received a Burroughs Wellcome Fund Career Award for Medical Scientists in support of his work on the genetic basis of QT interval variation and sudden cardiac death. The award targets promising young investigators transitioning to independent positions and provides $700,000 over 5 years.


Kathiresan awarded grant to study early-onset heart attacks »   |  4.13.07

CVRC researcher Dr. Sekar Kathiresan and Dr. David Altshuler, MD, PhD, of the Department of Molecular Biology, were awarded the $4.3 million grant by the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute. In this study, Kathiresan and Altshuler aim to associate cases of early-onset MI — heart attacks in younger patients — with genes that may put the patients at risk. While the average age of a first heart attack is 65.8 for men and 70.4 for women, this study will target 3,000 male and female MI patients aged 50 or 60 years or younger, respectively.

There is evidence to support the idea that inherited genetic variations play a key role in heart attacks, especially in early-onset cases. For example, MI tends to cluster in families even after traditional risk factors are taken into account. Due to recent advances in genetics, now it is possible to search the entire human genome for common variants in DNA that may influence MI risk. Through chip-based genotyping technology, this study will test around one million DNA sequence variants for possible roles in early-onset MI.

Successfully identifying these variants could transform how clinicians understand and treat heart attacks. If the genomic variants are located precisely, scientists could develop new diagnostic tests to allow doctors to identify those most at risk and target their treatments accordingly. Further, knowledge about these genes could allow clinicians to shed light on why heart attacks occur. "This may translate into new biology, new information and new avenues for treatment," says Kathiresan. "We are hopeful that knowledge about these genes will improve our ability to predict, prevent and treat heart attacks."
Potential Treatment for Chronic Lung Disease in Premature Infants »   |  4.02.07

Researchers from Massachusetts General Hospital, in collaboration with scientists from the Genzyme Corporation, have identified a potential treatment for a chronic lung disease affecting premature infants. In a study to appear in the American Journal of Physiology - Lung Cellular and Molecular Physiology, which has received early online release, the scientists find that the activity of transforming growth factor-beta (TGF-beta, a protein that controls many essential cellular functions) is elevated in the lungs of an animal model of bronchopulmonary dysplasia and that treatment with an antibody to TGF-beta both decreased the growth factor's activity and improved lung development.





See the Massachusetts General Hospital press release for more information.


Found: A Master Heart Cell »   |  11.23.06

A team led by Dr. Kenneth R. Chien discovered a cell in mice that builds cardiac, smooth muscle, and endothelial tissue. The team is now working to find the equivalent cell in humans, a finding that could develop into a treatment that would rebuild patients' damaged heart tissue.

A second team led by Dr. Stuart Orkin discovered a different cell that builds myocardial and smooth muscle tissue. Dr. Sean Wu of the Cardiovascular Research Center is first author on the paper, which will also be printed in the December issue of Cell.

To read the Chien group paper on the Cell Journal web site, click here.

To read the paper with Dr. Sean Wu as first author, click here.

Several other publications have written about the new findings, including the Boston Globe and the Harvard University Gazette.