Single cell RNA sequensing uncovers new mechanisms of heart disease

Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy is a heart disease that leads to a stressed, swollen heart muscle. Due to a poor understanding of underlying mechanisms, effective clinical treatments are not available. Patients receive generic heart medication and sometimes need open-heart surgery to remove excess tissue. Researchers at the Hubrecht Institute have now successfully applied a new revolutionary technology (scRNA-seq) to uncover underlying disease mechanisms, including specifically those causing the swelling. The extensive “big data” set is a treasure trove of novel observations that give insight in hypertrophic cardiomyopathy and potential new therapeutic venues. The results from this study, done by researchers in the group of Eva van Rooij, were published in the journal Cell Reports on the 10th of May.

Opening Circulatory health research center with Irene Schouten

Horizon Europe Project LiverTarget gets funded

Horizon Europe project LiverTarget gets funded

HEAL - Cardiomyocyte transplantation to induce myocardial regeneration

First patient-specific zebrafish model for arrhythmogenic cardiomyopathy

The research groups of Jeroen Bakkers and Toon van Veen bring forward the first patient-specific model for the heart disease arrhythmogenic cardiomyopathy (ACM). They were able to recapitulate the human form of this disease by introducing a genetic mutation called Phospholamban (PLN) p.Arg14del in zebrafish. The cellular changes resulting from the mutation could be recovered using the drug istaroxime. Eventually, the findings – published on 9 December in Nature Communications – may contribute to the understanding of the molecular mechanisms of the PLN mutation and the ways in which the symptoms of ACM can be relieved in patients.

UMC Utrecht the first hospital in the Netherlands to implant a completely artificial heart

In early November, a patient with severe heart failure was implanted with a total artificial heart at the UMC Utrecht for the first time in The Netherlands.

Healthcare data offer more knowledge on male-female differences in cardiovascular disease

Men and women may react differently to medication for cardiovascular disease.

Hugo Kuijf receives Heart Foundation grant for innovative machine learning model

Hugo Kuijf today receives the Dekker Senior Scientist 2021 grant from the Dutch Heart Foundation for his research that uses self-learning computer algorithms to image damage to the small blood vessels in the brain.

Gene Tbx5 essential for getting the heart in correct shape during embryonic development

Researchers from the group of Jeroen Bakkers, in collaboration with Leiden University and the Amsterdam UMC, provide a detailed description of cardiac looping during zebrafish embryonic development.

Bart van der Worp Professor of Acute Neurology

Bart van der Worp has been appointed Professor of Acute Neurology, with a special interest in cerebrovascular diseases, at the Faculty of Medicine of Utrecht University with effect from 1 March 2021.