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Bristol (UK) – Last evening – September 19, eve of the last day for the joint EVGNEMVBM (European Vascular Gemomics Network/ European Meeting on Vascular Biology and Medicine) Meeting at the University of Bristol – the Scientific Committee awarded the “Young Investigator Award”: a financial grant but, above all, the acknowledgment for the lab-work done and scientific merits to a young talent (under the age of 35) in the field of cardiovascular disease. For the first time in the Meeting history, however, the award was given to two researches, ex-aequo co-winners.
The winners are: Hafi Ait-Oufella, from the laboratory of Alain Tedgui (Inserm U689, Paris, France), EVGN scientific coordinator, and Rory Koenen, who works in the laboratory of Christian Weber, Director of the Institut für Kardiovaskuläre Molekularbiologie, IMCAR, in Aachen (Germany).
Proceeding along previous studies carried out in his lab, in which Alain Tedgui and Ziad Mallat proved that a subpopulation of T lymphocytes (called Treg) are able to protect the organism from atherosclerosis, Hafi Ait-Oufella presented his most recent data that prove how a nuclear protein from the measles virus, adequately treated and administered, is able to reduce atherosclerosis up to 50% in the mouse model. Not only the nucleoprotein inhibits the onset of atherosclerosis, but it also immunomodulate the organism reactions, acting on several parameters: reduction of inflammatory lymphocytes, atherosclerotic plaques containment and, moreover, switch of the immune responses of the organism towards what is called the T1 phenotype, a kind of immune response goverened by a family of “good” T lymphocytes. When furtherly developed and tested, the nucleoprotein from measles
virus could turn into a novel strategy to reduce and contain atherosclerosis.
Rory Koenen, from the laboratory of Christian Weber, is investigating the role that two proteins of the chemokine family – and in particular RANTES and Platelet Factor 4 (PF4) - play in facilitating atherogenesis. He found that the two chemokine interact with one another and promote the monocyte adhesion onto the vessel wall (a bad event marking atherosclerosis progression). Then, using a sophisticated technique called intravital microscopy and a molecule able to inhibit the RANTES-PF4 interaction, he proved that the inhibitor was effectively able to reduce atherosclerosis in the abdominal aorta of the model. This experiment was an elegant proof that interactions between chemokines are (patho)physiologically relevant and may present an attractive target in the treatment of inflammatory diseases.
“The decision of giving the award ex-aequo was determined by the excellent quality of their work” explained Professor Bradford C. Berk, from the Universy of Rochester, Cardiovascular Research Institute and member of the scientific judging Committee. Both the young scientists emergeed because of peculiar features: Ait-Oufella employed an excellent biological approach to the problems he addresses, and gave proof of extreme originality. Koenen, on his part, was like a “technological tornado”, as he used sophisticated biological techniques, proteomics and exploited in a very rational way the tools of protein design. There is no doubt that their personal value reflects the excellence of the laboratory they work in”.
The European Vascular Genomics Network (EVGN) is the first Network of excellence on cardiovascular disease funded by the European Commission under the 6th Framework Programme "Life sciences, genomics and biotechnology for health" (Contract Number: LSHM-CT-2003-503254).
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