LA JOLLA (CNS) - A protein studied as a potential treatment for
cardiovascular disease could actually trigger heart failure,
according to a study released Wednesday by the Sanford-Burnham
Medical Research Institute in La Jolla and the Stanford
University School of Medicine. According to Sanford-Burnham,
researchers have long sought ways to activate the APJ protein,
which sits on the surface of cells in many of the body's organs
and senses changes to its external environment, as a way to
treat heart disease. The latest research, published in
Thursday's edition of the journal Nature, found that APJ has a
second function, reacting to internal mechanical changes within
the organ. An enlarged heart, for example, could lead APJ to
respond in a way that sets a course toward heart failure,
according to the study. A team led by Pilar Ruiz-Lozano,
formerly assistant professor at Sanford-Burnham and now
associate professor of pediatrics at Stanford, tested enlarged
hearts in mice that didn't have the APJ protein, and th