Cardiovascular Aging

(Dr. Soheil Saeedi)

Senescence of endothelial cells and the neighboring tissue, perivascular adipose tissue (PVAT), is a bona fide risk for aging-associated cardiovascular diseases. Redox imbalance is known as a key driver of cardiovascular aging, while much remains unknown about the intrinsic origins and environmental factors which may trigger detrimental alterations eliciting senescence in vascular and perivascular adipose cells.

Ongoing Research

  • Investigate the mechanisms orchestrating redox homeostasis in endothelial cell and PVAT senescence

  • Understand the roles of gut microbiota-derived metabolites in regulating oxidative cellular senescence in (peri)vascular cells

  • Identify microbial metabolites as novel prognostic biomarkers and therapeutic targets for cardiovascular diseases in aging

  • Develop chemogenetic and senotherapeutic approaches for reprogramming aged (peri)vascular cells

Luckily, cells are equipped with molecular machineries devoted in tagging, unfolding, refolding or degrade disarranged proteins (monomers). If these systems are overwhelmed, monomers will accumulate leading to the formation of oligomers and ultimately to amyloid fibers thus impairing cell, tissue and organ functions (Fig.1).

This axiom called protein folding, in case of derangement, is the biological foundation of aging systems characterizing various chronic neurodegenerative diseases as Alzheimer’s dementia and it has been recently recognized as a driving mechanism of damage in a number of cardiovascular diseases such cardiac amyloidosis and several others.

Figure 1.
Fig. 1. Gut microbiota-redox machinery orchestrates EC-PVAT senescence and subsequently cardiovascular aging

Figure 2.
Chemogenetic approaches to restore redox homeostasis in aging PVAT and rescue EC senescence in animal models of premature aging

Research Team

  • Taraneh Shabanian, MSc (Research  Fellow)

  • Khatereh Shabanian, PharmD (Research  Fellow)

Funding

  • Fonds zur Förderung des akademischen Nachwuchses (FAN), PI

  • Novartis Foundation for Biomedical Research, PI

  • Gebauer Stiftung, PI

  • Jubiläumsstiftung von SwissLife, PI

  • Stiftung Kardio, PI