Ippei Shimizu, Ph.D. | Niigata University
Competition Sponsor: Japan Agency for Medical Research and Development
Awardee Year: 2020
The Aim of this study is to 1) Establish the concept and biomarker of Age-related Fibrotic Disorder (A-FiD), 2) Generate therapies for A-FiD. Here I define A-FiD as disorders including heart failure with preserved ejection fraction(HFpEF), atrial fibrillation(Afib), chronic kidney disease (CKD), sarcopenia or non-alcoholic steatohepatitis(NASH) etc. Recently, I identified a circulating pro-Fibrotic Protein(cFP) in plasma of 1) aged individuals, 2) HFpEF, 3) Afib or 4) NASH patients. Dietary obesity increased cFP in plasma, and pilot studies analyzing loss or gain of function models showed cFP becomes pathogenic in HFpEF, atrial fibrillation, sarcopenia or NASH models. To further examine the pathogenic role of cFP in A-FiD, and test its contribution for “synchronization of aging (sync-aging)”, I established international A-FiD research consortium. Members of this consortium have biobanks, skills in basic, translational, clinical and genomic research, enabling us to do comprehensive and conclusive studies (Figure).
To learn more about this proposal email healthylongevity@nas.edu.
View this project poster, first displayed at the 2021 Global Innovator Summit.