Studying Heart Disease at the Molecular Level
We are an international, transatlantic consortium of seven research groups with complementary expertise, supported by the Leducq Foundation to study the molecular mechanisms of heart disease and the impact of novel drugs, with the ultimate goal of improving therapy for patients.
The Project
The human heart — often described as the body’s engine — is a remarkable organ. It beats tirelessly, roughly 100,000 times a day, keeping us alive.
Its powerful pumping action is driven by trillions of tiny molecular motors called sarcomeres. Mutations in sarcomeric proteins give rise to the two major forms of heart disease: hypertrophic and dilated cardiomyopathy.
With support from the Leducq Foundation, we will unravel the mechanisms by which sarcomeric mutations lead to cardiac disease and test novel drug classes that modulate sarcomere function.
This research will enable us to better understand why hearts fail and how they can be repaired.
"The heart muscle is a central engine of the human body. Of course, it is easier to fix a broken engine, if you know how it is built and how it functions."
Stefan Raunser, Coordinator
What we have achieved so far
Breakthrough Discovery Sheds Light on Heart and Muscle Health
The group of Stefan Raunser from the Max Planck Institute in Dortmund, in collaboration with Mathias Gautel at the the King's College London, have successfully obtained the world's first high-resolution 3D image of the thick filament in its natural cellular environment, utilizing a cutting-edge technique known as electron cryo-tomography.
Tamborrini D, Wang Z, Wagner T, Tacke S, Stabrin S, Grange M, Kho AL, Rees M, Bennet P, Gautel M, Raunser S (2023). Structure of the native myosin filament in the relaxed cardiac sarcomere. Nature
The Leducq Foundation is an international grant-making organization with a mission to improve human health through international efforts to combat cardiovascular disease and stroke. By forging scientific alliances that transcend national borders, and educating young researchers who thrive in an international context, we hope to promote the development of long-term collaborative relationships and to foster innovation in cardiovascular and stroke research, in order to change the way that patients with cardiovascular and neurovascular disease are diagnosed and treated.