Following a heart attack (myocardial infarction, or MI), macrophages play an important role in repairing damaged heart tissue. Preliminary research by Nikolaos Frangogiannis, M.D., E. Richard Stanley, Ph.D., and colleagues suggests that heart-tissue fibroblasts aid in this process by releasing Colony Stimulating Factor-1 (CSF-1), a growth factor that activates macrophages and recruits them to the damaged area. 

The National Institutes of Health has awarded Dr. Frangogiannis and Dr Stanley a four-year, $3.1 million grant to examine for the first time CSF-1’s role in repairing the heart after an MI. In studies involving mice, their team will test their hypothesis that CSF-1 released by fibroblasts turns certain macrophages into “reparative macrophages” by binding to their CSF-1 receptors. The researchers will also examine the therapeutic effectiveness of early therapy with CSF-1 to improve repair and reduce remodeling (the structural and functional post-MI changes that can lead to heart failure by causing fibrous tissue to build up in the heart). 

Dr. Frangogiannis is professor of medicine and microbiology & immunology, and the Edmond J. Safra/Republic National Bank of New York Chair in Cardiovascular Medicine at Einstein. Dr Stanley is professor emeritus of developmental and molecular biology and the Renée E. and Robert A. Belfer Chair in Developmental Biology at Einstein. (1R01HL173191-01A1)