ID.15. Mecánica Molecular del Sistema Cardiovascular
- Línea de investigación
- Mecánica Molecular del Sistema Cardiovascular.
- Tutor
- Jorge Alegre Cebollada.
- Descripción
- The heart is a mechanical machine that has little room for failure. We still do not understand how the molecules that make up the heart ensure the remarkable reliability of this organ. In this context, our focus is on the following questions: How do the mechanical properties of proteins like titin and cardiac myosin binding protein C (cMyBP-C) emerge into the tissue scale to set the overall mechanics of the myocardium? How is protein mechanics modulated during physiological adaptation or altered in diseases of the heart? How do genetic variants in mechanical proteins cause cardiomyopathy? Our laboratory addresses these questions following multidisciplinary approaches, always trying to develop novel enabling methods and collaborating with outstanding colleagues whenever possible. A main strength of the laboratory is our command of single-molecule biophysics techniques for the mechanical characterization of proteins, including force spectroscopy by atomic force microscopy (AFM) and magnetic tweezers (MT), as well as complementary computational methods. To provide biological context to our results, we also measure mechanics at the level of cardiomyocytes and myocardial preparations and take advantage of our expertise in protein biochemistry and molecular and cell biology. In our pursue of biological contextualization, we have recently expanded the range of mechanical manipulation of proteins to living cells and animals.
- Centro
- Centro Nacional de Investigaciones Cardiovasculares Carlos III (CNIC).
- Contacto
- jorge.alegre@cnic.es
- Número de plazas ofertadas
- 1.