Mito-HF
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Does mitochondrial damage contribute to heart failure progression?
IRAS ID
335264
Contact name
Stephen Hoole
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
Royal Papworth Hospital NHS Foundation Trust
Duration of Study in the UK
1 years, 0 months, 1 days
Research summary
Heart failure is a condition whereby the pumping function of the heart is weakened, reducing its’ ability to pump blood around the body. This manifests in the form of shortness of breath.
Heart failure usually slowly progresses over time, but how this happens at a cellular level is not well understood. Our theory is that the heart needs a lot of energy to pump and over time the mitochondria (the power houses of the heart cells) become degraded, reducing the ability of the heart to pump but also sending out harmful chemicals that damage the surrounding tissues. Better understanding this process could help develop new and more effective treatments for heart failure in future.
To investigate this further, we wish to measure several processes which are linked:
1 The physical energy the heart uses to pump blood
2 The chemical energy 'fuel' the heart uses up (called Adenosine Triphosphate or ATP)
3 The movement of Calcium ions through the heart, a signal the heart uses to co-ordinate pumping and energy production
4 The production of mitochondrial damage associated molecular patterns, small molecules produced by damaged mitochondria which can themselves cause further damage
5 Inflammation within the heartWe can investigate 1, 2 and 3 using cardiac magnetic resonance (CMR) scans but 4 and 5 require blood samples to be taken from within the heart. Therefore, we will recruit people having procedures on their heart and arrange for them to have an additional CMR scan.
REC name
East of England - Cambridge South Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
24/EE/0066
Date of REC Opinion
1 May 2024
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion