Download Text for JBrown 100912

Heart cells die after a heart attack. Most of the dead cells are not replaced (at least not
with beating cells). We are interested in finding out what cellular components cause
this cell death. Mitochondria are structures within the cell that provide essential energy
for fueling each heart beat, but under stress mitochondria become leaky and nonfunctional leading to cell death and heart failure. Our study is about the molecules that
trigger mitochondria to cause the death of a cell. We found an enzyme in mitochondria
that promotes cell death when the heart is stressed. Our study goes on to show that
inhibiting this enzyme under stress conditions reduces the amount of cell death. The
contribution of the proposed research is expected to provide important advances in
therapy of heart diseases and mortality after a heart attack.