The Cincinnati Children's researchers discovered that blocking a
particular protein in mice protects the heart from injury due to
loss of blood flow during a heart attack. Moreover, drugs
already exist that block this protein cyclophilin D but they
have never been used in actual patient care, partially because
data didn't exist until now to prove they would work, according
to Jeff Molkentin, Ph.D., a researcher at Cincinnati Children's
and the study's senior author. Cyclophilin D resides within the
mitochondria of a cell. The mitochondria are the power plants of
a cell and are responsible for the majority of energy
production. When mitochondria do not function properly, such as
when tissue is deprived of oxygen, cells begin to die through a
process involving rupture of the mitochondria. When cyclophilin
D is deleted from the mitochondria, however, a cell's ability to
die is blocked, according to Dr. Molkentin. "When a person comes
to a hospital and it's realized that he or she is having a heart
attack or stro