Through its Transformational Project Award, the American Heart Association supports “highly innovative, high-impact projects that build on work in progress that could ultimately lead to critical discoveries or major advancements that will accelerate the field of cardiovascular and/or cerebrovascular research.” 

HUNTINGTON, W.Va. – Jinju Wang, Ph.D., assistant professor of biomedical sciences at the Marshall University Joan C. Edwards School of Medicine, has received a Transformational Project Award from the American Heart Association to evaluate the potential effects of angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2) modified exosomes in hypertension-related ischemic stroke.  

ACE2 is a protein that regulates blood pressure by breaking down angiotensin II, a peptide that narrows blood vessels. By delivering ACE2, these exosomes can help reduce blood pressure by converting angiotensin II into its less harmful form. Wang’s new three-year $300,000 grant (24TPA1291189) will utilize a transgenic mouse model with hypertension to test the effects of these modified exosomes. 

"The rising incidence of stroke among the aging and hypertensive population underscores the pressing need for innovative ischemic stroke therapies, especially for elderly individuals,” said Wang, principal investigator on the study. “This study introduces ACE2-modified exosomes as a promising novel therapeutic avenue for ischemic stroke in the context of aging and hypertension. It will significantly contribute to expanding the practical application of ACE2-modified exosomes in the context of cerebrovascular disorders, serving as a proof-of-concept for the versatile delivery of biomedical molecules through exosomes.” 

The anti-inflammatory and protective effects of ACE2 could mitigate the damage caused by stroke, particularly in hypertensive patients. The successful completion of this could lead to novel treatments aimed at lessening the severity of ischemic stroke in elderly patients with hypertension. 

In addition to Wang, the study team includes Marshall biomedical sciences faculty members Ji Bihl, Ph.D., co-investigator on the study, and consultants Alejandro Q. Nato Jr., Ph.D., Lawrence Grover, Ph.D., and Gary Rankin, Ph.D. Wang joined the School of Medicine in 2021 and leads focused research on understanding the physiological and pathological roles of extracellular vesicles (EVs) in cerebrovascular diseases such as stroke and dementia. 

Date Posted: Wednesday, July 17, 2024