TABIS V1
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Tissue and Circulating B cells in Ischaemic Heart Disease
IRAS ID
303977
Contact name
Tian Zhao
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
Royal Papworth Hospital NHS Foundation Trust
Duration of Study in the UK
2 years, 0 months, 1 days
Research summary
Overactivation of the immune system (also called inflammation) plays an important role in patients by causing narrowing of blood vessels leading to angina (chest tightness on exertion), heart attacks, and strokes. Furthermore, excessive and prolonged inflammation in the heart muscle after a heart attack can prevent its effective healing. Our group has shown that in animals, the over-activation of B cells, a type of immune cell, worsens heart disease. In patients, research has focused on B cells taken from blood. However, around 90% of the B cells are found in the tissues that make up a human body (including fat) and not in blood. Therefore, to help develop medicines to target B cells in heart disease we need to have a better understanding of their characteristics in both tissue and blood.
Our research study aims to address this by requesting two types of tissue from patients already planning to undergo open-heart surgery at Royal Papworth Hospital: 1) we wish to take tissue that is routinely removed during cardiac surgery and discarded. This will be mainly fat tissue around the heart and excess blood vessels. 2) We would like to take a lymph node from next to the heart. This is a pea-sized sac filled with immune cells. We will also request to take some bone fat (marrow) from the breast bone. Both of these tissues will be exposed during routine heart surgery and easily accessible.
We will study the characteristics of B cells found in these tissues, comparing them to blood, and also between patients with and without narrowing in blood vessels. Together this will allow us to have a deeper understanding of B cells in heart disease which will be important as we develop new medicines to target them in patients.
REC name
South West - Frenchay Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
21/SW/0151
Date of REC Opinion
22 Oct 2021
REC opinion
Favourable Opinion