Assessing mitochondrial bioenergetics in coronary heart disease
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Assessing mitochondrial bioenergetics in coronary heart disease; correlating cardiac magnetic resonance with the molecular processes that underpin myocardial dysfunction and left ventricular reverse remodelling (the AMBITION study).
IRAS ID
247881
Contact name
Sanjay K Prasad
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
Imperial College London
Duration of Study in the UK
3 years, 5 months, 1 days
Research summary
Coronary heart disease (CHD) is caused by the accumulation of fatty material in the arteries that supply the heart with blood. As the disease progresses it can cause heart muscle weakening. As such, research is now concentrating on the pathways within heart muscle cells that cause impairment of heart pumping function. This work has led to increased focus on the role of mitochondria. Mitochondria are small structures within cells that are the powerhouses for energy production. We aim to investigate the mitochondria in the heart cells of patients with CHD.
Our study will recruit two cohorts of patients from the Royal Brompton and Harefield NHS Foundation Trust. The first group will contain individuals undergoing coronary artery bypass graft operations who have cardiac magnetic resonance (CMR) imaging evidence of impaired, but recoverable, heart tissue. This is an important cohort as the biochemical abnormalities in recoverable heart tissue is an attractive target for new drug treatments. During surgery, tiny heart biopsies will be obtained from the impaired, and normally contracting, regions of the heart. These samples will then undergo mitochondrial testing and the results will be compared against repeated CMR investigations of heart function.
The second group will include patients with advanced heart failure caused by CHD. These patients will be unwell and will be awaiting heart transplantation. They may also need a left ventricular assist device (a surgically inserted pump that temporarily aids heart function) before their heart transplantation. In this group, we will again take small heart biopsies during the operation(s). These samples will then undergo mitochondrial testing and the results will be compared against repeated imaging assessments of heart function.
The AMBITION study will be one of the first human studies to combine advanced imaging with heart tissue assessments, aiming to uncover the role of mitochondria in CHD.
REC name
East of England - Cambridgeshire and Hertfordshire Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
19/EE/0166
Date of REC Opinion
26 Jun 2019
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion