Sphingolipids in Diabetic Cardiomyopathy
Description: PUBLIC HEALTH RELEVANCE: Diabetics have a higher risk of heart failure than healthy individuals, and this is attributable to multiple factors including changes in heart geometry and function that occur independently of other risk factors. Mechanisms for this are thought to include toxic effects of lipid oversupply to cardiomyocytes, and the sphingolipid ceramide has been implicated by numerous groups to be involved in these processes. We have recently discovered that a distinct ceramide biosynthesis pathway mediates cardiomyocyte hypertrophy and autophagy, and this proposal will further our mechanistic understanding of this process, with the ultimate goal of identifying molecular pathways that might be targeted to improve cardiac function in diabetics.
Funding type: research
Funder scheme: R01
Start date: 2014-08-18
End date: 2020-05-31
Investigator: LAUREN ASHLEY COWART
Institution: VIRGINIA COMMONWEALTH UNIVERSITY
Subfield: Molecular Biology
Domain: Life Sciences
Funded outputs count: 33
Funder award ID: R01HL117233
OpenAlex ID: G6783143330