DISCOVERY POINTS TO NEW TREATMENT FOR ANEURYSMS: UBC-PROVIDENCE RESEARCH
New research findings from a team at the Providence Heart + Lung Institute at St. Paul’s Hospital and the University of British Columbia (UBC) may lead to new treatment options for abdominal aortic aneurysms (AAA) - a potentially fatal disease that currently has no pharmacological treatments.
 “Dr. David Granville University of British Columbia and St. Paul’s Hospital photo: UBC |
An aortic aneurysm is a bulging of the aorta, the largest blood vessel in the body. If the aneurysm ruptures, it causes rapid blood loss and a high risk of death. About 75 per cent of all aortic aneurysms occur in the part of the aorta that is located in the abdomen, which supplies blood to the lower limbs.
Published in today’s American Journal of Pathology, a study led by Dr. David Granville, a researcher with UBC and the Providence Heart + Lung Institute, reveals a novel therapeutic target for AAA that could have a major impact on the treatment of this disease.
Using experimental models of AAA, Dr. Granville and his team identified a protein degrading enzyme called Granzyme B that is abundant in aneurysms. To determine whether Granzyme B was contributing to aneurysms, the enzyme was genetically knocked out.
“When we removed Granzyme B, we found that it not only slowed the progression of aneurysms, but also markedly improved survival,” says Dr. Granville. “This suggests that drugs designed specifically to target Granzyme B could be an effective means of treating aneurysms.”
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Tags: AAA, Aortic aneurysms, Dr. David Granville, Granzyme B, St. Paul's Hospital, UBC