The research group of Professor Ichiro Manabe of Chiba University Graduate School of Medicine, President Ryozo Nagai of Jichi Medical University, Specially Appointed Assistant Professor Katsuhito Fujio of Graduate School of Medicine, University of Tokyo, and Associate Professor Shingo Iwami of Graduate School of Science, Kyushu University We discovered a new organ network related to the disease and a key protein for the onset of heart failure.
The number of patients with heart failure continues to increase in Japan, and the development of new treatment methods is desired.This time, the group has found a new network of organs that connects the "heart-brain-kidney".This is a series of linking mechanisms that "when the heart is strained, the kidneys are activated via the brain and nerves, and the bioactive molecules released from the kidneys maintain the function of the heart."In fact, if this process does not work well, mice will develop heart failure.
In addition, the group found that when the burden on the heart increased, the protein "amphiregulin," which helps cardiomyocytes work, was secreted.It was found that mice that do not work with amphiregulin are prone to heart failure, and conversely, administration of amphiregulin improves the symptoms of heart failure mice.
The discovery of this key protein for the onset of heart failure, "amphiregulin," and a series of organ networks is expected to lead to the development of new treatments for diseases such as heart failure and chronic kidney disease.
Paper information:[Nature Medicine] A heart–brain–kidney network controls adaptation to cardiac stress through tissue macrophage activation
