Researchers at the QIMR Berghofer Medical Research Institute have created Cardiopedia-Ligand, a detailed online map of chemical signals controlling heart function, using miniature human heart tissues known as cardiac organoids to catalogue responses to 87 biological signaling molecules, according to a recent statement released by the institute and published in Cell Stem Cell.
Mapping Cardiac Signaling With Laboratory Organoids
Scientists built the resource by measuring how strongly laboratory-grown human cardiac organoids contracted when exposed to various signaling molecules, and tracking which genes switched on or off. The resulting dataset links biological signaling directly with heart function and gene activity. According to Prof. James Hudson, head of QIMR Berghofer’s Cardiac Bioengineering Laboratory, researchers have brought all that information together into a single resource for the first time.
Did you know?
Cardiopedia-Ligand catalogues human heart tissue responses to 87 specific biological signaling molecules that interact with receptors found directly on heart cells.
Future Screening and Personalized Medicine Goals
The newly published atlas is the first phase of a broader initiative and has been made publicly available online for researchers worldwide, according to QIMR Berghofer. To construct an expanded blueprint of cardiac function and potential treatment reactions, the upcoming phase of the program will test roughly 2,000 pharmaceutical substances. Hudson stated that the goal is to increase the number of drugs effective for heart failure that actually act on heart tissue. The grand vision for the personalized medicine initiative is that patients can visit a hospital and have their genetics and biomarkers matched exactly to an effective drug.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is Cardiopedia-Ligand?
Cardiopedia-Ligand is an online resource cataloguing how human heart tissue responds to 87 biological signaling molecules that interact with receptors found on heart cells, developed by researchers at the QIMR Berghofer Medical Research Institute.
How was the heart tissue data collected?
The study published in Cell Stem Cell used miniature human heart tissues grown in laboratories, known as human cardiac organoids, to measure tissue contraction strength and gene activity.
What are the next steps for the research project?
To establish a more thorough understanding of cardiac physiology and possible treatment outcomes, the subsequent phase of this five-year endeavor will evaluate near 2,000 pharmacological agents.
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