A team of scientists led by Dr. Enrique Lara Pezzi (photo) at the Centro Nacional de Investigaciones Cardiovasculares (CNIC) in Madrid, Spain, has identified the RNA-binding protein SRSF3 as an essential factor for proper heart contraction and survival. In a study published online on July 5, 2019 in Circulation Research, the researchers found that loss of cardiac expression of SRSF3 leads to a critical reduction in the expression of genes involved in contraction. The new article is titled “Loss of SRSF3 in Cardiomyocytes Leads to Decapping of Contraction-Related mRNAs and Severe Systolic Dysfunction.” Knowledge of the mechanism of action of SRSF3 in the heart could open the way to the design of new therapeutic approaches for the treatment of heart disease. Cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of death in the world. In 2015 alone, cardiovascular disease killed 17.7 million people, with 6.7 million of these deaths caused by heart attack. Unfortunately, knowledge is limited about the molecular mechanisms that regulate progression of a myocardial infarction, sytmying the development of new therapeutic approaches. The recent development of massive-scale mRNA sequencing technology has permitted the identification of gene expression patterns associated with the development of heart disease. Nevertheless, understanding of post-transcriptional regulation (a type of gene regulation) remains limited, in particular about the roles played by RNA-binding proteins (RBPs) in myocardial infarction and the development of heart disease. RNA-binding proteins perform important tasks in the cell. "In this study, we have investigated the role of the RBP SRSF3 in the heart, which was unknown until now," explained Dr. Lara Pezzi.Login Or Register To Read Full Story