In an editorial today in Circulation, very helpful light is shed upon the role of Phosphoinositide 3-Kinase in cardiac remodelling, particularly left ventricular remodeling.

The heart responds to various stresses in different ways, sometimes causing undesirable (adverse) changes to the structure of the ventricle, and at other times leading to desirable or beneficial remodelling – such as is typical following a responsible exercise programme.

Phosphoinositide 3-Kinase is part of a family of enzymes which affect cell growth, differentiation, proliferation, and other key remodelling processes.  As such, an understanding of the way in which this works is potentially beneficial for avoidance of adverse remodelling and promotion of benficial repair following trauma.

The editorial provides a helpful overview of the difference between responses at the cardiac level, discusses briefly the research direction and current fields of focus, and then discusses the current work involving protein level and microRNA-based studies.

Read the full editorial at http://circ.ahajournals.org/content/early/2012/09/25/CIRCULATIONAHA.112.138313.full.pdf+html