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USC Cardiology in the Media

Researchers Seek Way to Stem Atherosclerosis
Backed by the NIH, USC teams combine their expertise to examine individuals in peak condition.
by Kukla Vera
September 22, 2006

Several USC research teams have combined their diverse areas of expertise - including engineering, pharmaceutical sciences and cardiology - to study a novel strategy for preventing atherosclerosis.

The researchers, led by primary investigator Tzung Hsiai, holder of the Robert G. and Mary G. Lane Early Career Chair at the USC Viterbi School of Engineering, include Enrique Cadenas, the Charles Krown/Alumni Professor in Pharmaceutical Sciences at the USC School of Pharmacy, and Howard Hodis, the Harry J. Bauer and Dorothy Bauer Rawlins Professor of Cardiology at the Keck School of Medicine of USC.

The researchers received a $2 million National Institutes of Health (NIH) grant to support their examination of how biomechanical and biochemical factors initiate atherosclerosis, a plaque formation process in the arteries that leads to acute heart attacks and stroke.

Of particular interest, the research will find ways to identify clinically asymptomatic individuals in the prime of life, before they turn up in emergency rooms with their first heart attack or stroke.

"This project provides especially unique cardiovascular research as it studies the molecular and signaling processes involved in response to flow dynamics in the arteries," said Hodis, director of the USC Atherosclerosis Unit. "Potentially, we will be able to find new intervention targets for early prevention of cardiovascular disease."

Hemodynamics, or blood flow, various biochemical reactions and inflammatory processes all play an important role in the nature of coronary artery disease, explained Hsiai, assistant professor of biomedical engineering and medicine.

"The integration of biomedical engineering and oxidative biology as well as the testing of hypotheses with dynamic models strengthen our cross-disciplinary research," he said.

He added that, ultimately, the goal is to develop micro- and nanosensors that enable the prediction, detection and prevention of acute coronary disease.

The investigators will study the fluid mechanics of blood flow in conjunction with vascular oxidative stress and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol in an attempt to identify the mechanisms that allow potentially harmful lipid deposits to move through blood vessels, ultimately being deposited at curving or branching points. This process lays the foundation for atherosclerosis.

"Our labs are working closely on this exciting project, with the work of each group enhanced by the collaboration," said Cadenas, professor of pharmacology and pharmaceutical sciences.

"Hsiai's engineering and medical backgrounds offer a distinctive approach to heart disease, a tremendous complement to the perspectives offered by Hodis' and my groups," he added.

This is the first NIH award for Hsiai as the primary investigator while Cadenas and Hodis have each had consecutive NIH funding for their work for more than 15 years.

Both Cadenas and Hsiai have secondary appointments at the Keck School, where Hsiai is also an attending cardiologist.

Hodis is professor of medicine and preventive medicine at the Keck School with a secondary appointment as a professor of molecular pharmacology and toxicology at the School of Pharmacy.

Original article can be found here:
http://uscnews.usc.edu/hscweekly/detail.php?recordnum=12774