A new research claims to have discovered a molecule that might be a potential tool to bar a particular protein that causes heart failure.
Researchers named their new discovery 'Myheart.' It is a non-coding RNA that would effectively block BRG1, a protein responsible for genetic disruptions when the heart is subjected to stress such as high blood pressure, the study results found.
"I think of Myheart (myosin heavy-chain-associated RNA transcript) as a molecular crowbar that pries BRG1 off the genomic DNA and prevents it from manipulating genetic activity," Ching-Pin Chang, an associate professor of medicine at the Indiana University School of Medicine, said in a press release.
Chang's previous research found that the protein BRG1 alters the genetic activity of the heart after it faces high blood pressure or damage from a heart attack. This causes heart failure. At the same time, production of Myheart is suppressed, so BRG1 can latch onto the DNA and alter the genetic material unchecked.
In the current study, the team found that in mice with stress-induced high levels of BRG1, researchers were able to restore Myheart to normal levels using gene transfer technology. The molecule acted as a barrier to the actions of BRG1 and prevented heart failure.
According to Chang, Myheart is "too large" by molecular standards to be delivered as drug in humans. However, the researchers said they were planning to find smaller portions of the Myheart molecule that are a key in its ability to block BRG1. Such a subsection of the Myheart molecule could lead to a compound to test in human trials.
The study was published in the journal Nature.
