Furthering our understanding of the redox regulation of Protein Kinase A in the cardiovascular system

点击翻译按钮获取中文摘要

Cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of death in the UK, as it is in other Western societies. This burden continues to grow as the population lives longer, exerting an important proteins (known as PKA) becomes altered (oxidised) when the levels of oxidant molecules increase in the heart and in blood vessels. Thus, PKA may become altered during times, for example during disease, when oxidant levels in the tissues of the cardiovascular system are changed. We think this modification of PKA may be important in the complex events leading to cardiovascular dysfunction, including high blood pressure (hypertension) or heart failure. In simple terms the alteration involves PKA becoming oxidised and we think this alteration changes how it functions, which likely impacts on the development of cardiovascular disease. We propose experiments that will allow us to better understand how the oxidative alteration modifies the activity or function of PKA, and thereafter how these changes influence the development of cardiovascular disease. In the longer term, we envisage the proposed studies may lead to new drugs that target PKA to limit the development of cardiovascular disease. This is important as currently there is a lack of pharmacotherapy that adequately combats this common health problem.