Heart HealthZBTB16 Gene in Heart Vessels Acts as a Brake on Cardiac Aging
Scientists at Goethe University Frankfurt discovered that a gene called ZBTB16 — active in the cells lining heart blood vessels — dramatically declines with aging in both humans and mice. When this gene is deleted in young mice, their hearts rapidly develop hallmarks of old age: stiffness, scarring, abnormal enlargement, and loss of nerve fibers. Conversely, when ZBTB16 was restored in aged mice using a gene therapy approach, heart function measurably improved and fibrosis was reduced. The protein works partly by suppressing a downstream target called NRIP1, which otherwise activates scar-forming cells. The findings open a new therapeutic angle for age-related heart disease by targeting the vascular niche rather than heart muscle cells directly.
