Project Grant R01HL173543

This federal Project Grant award from the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI), under the Cardiovascular Diseases Research program (CFDA 93.837), is supporting research to investigate the role of mitochondrial signaling between cardiomyocytes and cardiac fibroblasts in the pathogenesis of cardiac fibrosis. The $639,621 award to the Cleveland Clinic Lerner College of Medicine of Case Western Reserve University will fund a 4-year research project to test the hypothesis that intact mitochondria serve as transcellular signaling conduits between cardiomyocytes and fibroblasts, promoting myofibroblast differentiation and contributing to cardiac fibrosis. The research employs a range of ex vivo tools, reagents, and genetically engineered mouse models to examine the regulation of mitochondrial release from cardiomyocytes, the necessity and sufficiency of fibroblast mitochondrial uptake in driving myofibroblast differentiation, and the underlying signaling pathways involved. This work aims to advance the understanding of cardiomyocyte-fibroblast crosstalk and its role in cardiac fibrosis, with potential implications for developing new therapeutic strategies.