AJP-Heart and Circulatory Physiology Podcast

Timing is everything, and so it was with calpastatin overexpression used to inhibit calpain activity and impair post-MI scar formation. In this podcast, Deputy Editor Merry Lindsey (University of Mississippi Medical Center) interviews lead author Barnabas Gellen (CHU de Poitiers) and content expert Gerd Heusch (Universitatsklinikum Essen) in an engaging discussion about the recent work by Wan et al. This study, which evolved from an initially planned long-term experiment to focus on short-term remodeling effects, is a great example of results refining evaluation parameters. In terms of experimental design strategy, find out how permanent coronary occlusion compares to ischemia reperfusion. “Mechanism comes first, and then we can translate it,” said Heusch. “So, both models have their value.” The exciting results of this study lead Gellen and colleagues to ask: when should we start calpain inhibition, when should we stop calpain inhibition, how much inhibitory effect is beneficial, and in which cell types? Listen to find out.

Feng Wan, Emmanuel Letavernier, Claude Jourdan Le Saux, Amal Houssaini, Shariq Abid, Gabor Czibik, Daigo Sawaki, Elisabeth Marcos, Jean-Luc Dubois-Rande, Laurent Baud, Serge Adnot, Geneviève Derumeaux, Barnabas Gellen Calpastatin overexpression impairs postinfarct scar healing in mice by compromising reparative immune cell recruitment and activation Am J Physiol Heart Circ Physiol, published December 1, 2015. DOI: 10.1152/ajpheart.00594.2015.