UNAB researcher discovers drug that could be used for new treatments for cardiovascular diseases

Cardiovascular diseases are the leading cause of death in Chile, accounting for more than a quarter of all deaths registered each year, about 30 thousand in total. In 2022, they accounted for 23% of all deaths in the country.

These conditions also include aneurysms, which are abnormal dilatations of the walls of the arteries, resembling balloons about to burst. Although they can occur in any part of the body, they are most frequent in the arteries of the brain and abdominal aorta and can cause fatal hemorrhages in both parts.

In this context, pioneering research led by Alejandra San Martín, a researcher at UNAB’s Institute of Biomedical Sciences, could open up new avenues of treatment for aneurysms and other cardiovascular system diseases.

She and her team discovered a drug called TIC10, which would activate a protein (ClpP) that controls the behavior of smooth muscle cells in blood vessels. This would allow them to maintain their function in the body and thus significantly reduce the development of aneurysms in animal models.

«We study muscle cells that are in blood vessels. These cells are altered during diseases such as vascular aneurysms and lose their function. In this research, we describe a new mechanism by which vascular smooth muscle cells preserve their function even when they resemble the pathological conditions of an aneurysm,» explains San Martín.

The possibility of targeted treatment

The study also provides insight into the mechanisms leading to muscle cell function loss. According to the scientist, this is extremely important because it opens up the possibility of intervening and helping these cells to preserve their normal function in pathological conditions and inhibit the progression of vascular diseases. «In the particular case of aneurysms, it is exciting because it is a disease that has no targeted treatment,» she emphasizes.

“One of the advantages of the drug we tested is that it is currently in advanced clinical trials to treat certain cancers. Therefore, it could be reused for the treatment of aortic aneurysms. Still, there is a lot of testing to be done before using it in patients, but the fact that it is in Phase III clinical trials makes this path shorter and more promising.”

San Martín says that reaching these findings took about eight years in this line of research. In addition, she had to deal with the transfer of her laboratory from the United States to Chile in the middle of the research after 20 years in the North American country.

The UNAB professor says that some questions remain to be answered to fully explain the relationship between this protein and muscle cells, but she is satisfied with the results, especially its therapeutic potential in the diseases that most afflict the population.

«On the other hand, we are interested in generating new families of compounds that activate this protease and can be used as potential innovative therapies,» she concludes.

El Mercurio: Towards Paris 2024: The Olympic dream of Chilean athletes

The newspaper El Mercurio details the 11 athletes, both students and graduates of Universidad Andrés Bello, who will be competing in the Paris 2024 Olympic Games.»

A few days before the start of the Paris 2024 Olympic Games (July 26), the excitement and anxiety to see the best athletes in the world compete is at its peak.

El Mercurio details the 11 athletes who study or studied at the Universidad Andrés Bello and who will be in the great sporting event.

These UNAB representatives of Team Chile have in common rigor, responsibility, organization, perseverance, sacrifice, and enthusiasm for what they do.

The university plays a fundamental role in reconciling professional sports activities with higher education studies. Knowing this, and as part of its commitment to promote the integral development of its students, high-performance competitors and those who belong to the university’s teams have benefits and flexibility in their academic loads, all within the framework of a Sports Policy that has guidelines for this type of students who are preparing to compete on the most demanding sporting stage on the planet: the Paris 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games.