Glasgow Uni scientists to pioneer groundbreaking 3D heart images

University of Glasgow researchers are set to start a major new research project which aims to create the world’s most detailed 3D images of the mechanical forces at work inside a living, beating heart. 

Receiving £4M in funding from the global charitable foundation, ‘Wellcome Trust’, they are partnering with researchers from Imperial College London and the University of Sheffield to embark on this seven year long project.

The project initially started with an 18 month study, which provided the first proof on the plausibility of turning this challenging idea into reality. The research involves developing sophisticated imaging techniques to directly measure forces inside the hearts of live zebrafish. These techniques are expected to provide insights into the physical forces that shape the heart in both health and disease; furthering cardiovascular research and creating valuable resources for further studies.  

The team is studying genetically engineered zebrafish, a common model used for heart research. They have modified key proteins that act as molecular ‘glue’ between heart cells, to include a microscopic ‘tension sensor’ made of elastic spider silk. This sensor stretches like a spring in response to the forces between cells, allowing them to map out the mechanical forces acting on individual molecules in real time with precision. To detect these tiny changes, the team will measure individual photons of light with billionth-of-a-second accuracy, even while the heart is beating several times a second.

According to a news report from the University of Glasgow, Jonathan Taylor, a Professor of Biophysics at the University of Glasgow’s School of Physics & Astronomy, is the project’s principal investigator. He said: “The heart is an extraordinarily complex biological machine, and we still don’t fully understand the forces that govern its development and growth.”

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“However, we do know that these forces play a vital role in shaping how the heart forms. Disruptions to these forces are also thought to be among the earliest stages of heart disease. By developing new methods to visualise and map out this force landscape, we hope to unlock new understanding of heart disease and how to treat it.”

“I’m grateful to the Wellcome Trust for this support, which will bring together world-leading expertise from our three universities to tackle this ambitious challenge, and allow us to develop new force-imaging tools that will be shared with researchers worldwide.”

Julien Vermot, a Professor at Imperial College London and co-investigator on the project, said: “’This project offers a unique opportunity to understand how mechanical forces drive heart development, while training the next generation of researchers in this exciting area of science. We are thrilled to continue this strong collaboration between our three universities.”

Emily Noël, Senior Lecturer at the University of Sheffield, said: “We are delighted by the opportunity to continue our collaborative work on understanding not only the fundamental forces that shape the heart, but also how changes in these forces contribute to onset of cardiac diseases.”

This project has immense potential for medical and bioengineering research, including furthering our understanding of genetic heart disease, cellular regeneration, cardiovascular drugs and therapies.

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Featured image via Unsplash