Project 462351

Heart diseases are the #1 cause of mortality worldwide, with over 17 million deaths per year. In Canada, over 2 million people aged 20+ live with heart disease. Procedures such as bypass surgery restore blood supply to heart attack patients and therefore save lives. Despite this, about 1 in every 10 patients will develop advanced heart failure, and this number is growing. Thus, better treatments for preventing damage and improving heart function are needed. We recently reported that a toxic compound called methylglyoxal is produced after a heart attack, and that it contributes to reduced vascular repair and loss of cardiac function. In this study an enzyme therapy will be developed to specifically reduce methylglyoxal levels in the damaged heart. The therapy will be delivered using nanoparticles that can be injected into the bloodstream. The nanoparticles contain sequences on their surface that recognize injured blood vessels. This will allow them to target the damaged heart. We expect our therapy to reduce the vascular damage caused by methylglyoxal after a heart attack, leading to improved heart function. We will also consider the effect of sex on the production of methylglyoxal after a heart attack and the efficacy of our treatment. This new therapy may have the potential to promote vascular repair, prevent heart failure, and improve the quality of life for many patients in Canada living with heart disease.