Metabo-epigenetic regulatory circuits of heart disease caused by inherited and acquired lipid accumulation (A01)

• Subject Area: Cardiology, Angiology
• Term: since 2022
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 464424253

Inherited neutral lipid storage disease with cardiomyopathy (NLSD-CM) is caused by mutations in PNPLA2, encoding a lipid droplet (LD)-associated protein, and is characterized by massive lipid accumulation. Using mouse models of genetic and acquired NLSD-CM, we have demonstrated the involvement of histone deacetylases (HDACs) in the development of diastolic dysfunction. The aim of the project is to elucidate the molecular mechanisms by which HDACs regulate lipid metabolism and cardiac function, to unravel the metabo-epigenetic circuits connecting chromatin state with metabolic and lysosomal-autophagic control in NLSD-CM.

• DFG Programme: Collaborative Research Centres
• Subproject of: SFB 1550: Molecular Circuits of Heart Disease
• Applicant Institution: Ruprecht-Karls-Universität Heidelberg
• Project Heads: Professor Dr. Johannes Backs; Professorin Dr. Almut Schulze