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CRISPR-Cas9 gene editing of CaMKIIδ as an antiarrhythmic therapy for sleep-disordered breathing
Funding line:
Else Kröner Memorial Fellowships
Experimental approach to ablate the oxidative activation sites of CaMKIIδ using CRISPR-Cas9 gene editing.
(© PD Dr. Simon Lebek (UKR))
Sleep-disordered breathing (SDB) is frequently associated with cardiac arrhythmias, thereby reducing quality and expectancy of life. Thus, new and improved treatment strategies are urgently warranted. We have recently found an increased activation of a specific disease factor (CaMKIIδ) in patients with SDB, which favours the occurrence of arrhythmias. Our goal is to eliminate the activation site of this harmful disease factor to develop a new treatment. This will be tested and optimized in human cardiac myocytes as well as in mice with SDB. In the long term, this approach could lead to a new therapeutic strategy for cardiac arrhythmias in patients with SDB.
