The Cardiovascular Biology lab in Trieste has received funding from the EU for “project RESCUE”, aiming for a single-shot remedy to regenerate the heart after infarction.
Two RNA molecules combined in one therapy to repair the heart and induce the formation of new blood vessels. This is the ambitious goal of RESCUE, the EU-funded project coordinated by Serena Zacchigna, Head of the Cardiovascular Biology Lab at ICGEB, and Professor at the University of Trieste, in collaboration with the prestigious “Centro Cardiologico Monzino” in Milan.
The RESCUE project has received funding for 1.5 million euros under the Era4Health programme of the European Union, involves experts in Cardiology and Angiogenesis from Italy, Spain, The Netherlands, Slovakia, and Turkey.
“An injured heart requires both new cardiac cells and new blood vessels that feed them to function properly,” affirms Prof. Zacchigna. “The idea is to deliver one RNA molecule promoting the formation of new heart cells and one RNA molecule promoting the development of new blood vessels in one shot.”
The researchers involved are already testing several combinations of RNA molecules, aiming to produce a single drug that will rescue cardiac function upon infarction.
