Novel approaches to prevent heart disease

Burnet Co-program Director of Disease Elimination, Associate Professor Anna Hearps and Research Officer Dr Morgane Brunton-O'Sullivan have received a grant from the Heart Foundation to support research on a common cause of heart attacks.

The A$148,910 grant will support two years of work on novel therapeutics to help prevent atherosclerosis. 

Atherosclerosis is a chronic inflammatory condition where fatty plaque builds in blood vessel walls. If severe and left untreated, it can lead to a heart attack or stroke.

Atherosclerosis can occur in anyone. Older adults and people living with chronic conditions, such as HIV, are at higher risk.

Specialised immune cells called monocytes play a key role in atherosclerosis. Anna and Morgane have found that in older people these cells are changed in a way that increases their ability to drive atherosclerosis.

To date, treatment for atherosclerosis has focused on reducing fat that builds up and blocks arteries.

But there are no approved treatments that address inflammatory processes involving the monocytes behind the condition.

That’s what Anna and Morgane are hoping to fix. Their research focuses on targeting novel pathways involving monocytes that drive atherosclerosis and finding ways to block or slow down these effects.

Anna said the research will help understand and address the connections between ageing and heart disease.

“This research is novel because it focuses on a totally different pathway driving atherosclerosis, one which could play a critical role in people with chronic inflammation including older individuals,” Anna said.

Morgane added that this research will use our unique laboratory model of early atherosclerosis to better understand how chronic inflammation affects monocyte behaviour and function, and to identify and test potential drugs that may limit processes contributing to heart disease.

Other team members on the project include Associate Professor Anthony Jaworowski (Burnet Institute) and Associate Professor Sara Baratchi (Baker Heart and Diabetes Institute).