Cardiovascular disease, which causes ischemic injury, is the leading cause of death worldwide. During heart surgery, the myocardium undergoes ischemia, which causes changes in the mitochondria that lead to severe mitochondrial damage and tissue failure after restoring blood flow to the ischemic area. Medicines supporting mitochondrial function could reduce damage if concentrated at the injury site at sufficient levels. However, efficient mitochondrial therapies have not been developed yet, and exosomes might significantly change this field.
Our research team has just started a new project, “Improvement of exosome selectivity for cardiomyocytes, ESELEKT”. The project is to develop cardiomyocyte-targeted exosomes with mitochondrial enhancers and test them in preclinical models.
We believe that such exosome drug delivery can make a massive change in heart surgeries, reduce suffering from side effects and enhance patient life quality.
The project is funded from the Republic of Lithuania Funds via The Agency for Science, Innovation and Technology of Lithuania, under the scheme „Development of Biotechnology Industry in Lithuania”.