A new study investigates a genetic culprit behind abdominal aortic aneurysm, a serious condition that puts people at risk of their aorta rupturing – a potentially deadly event, according to a news release from Michigan Medicine.
For this study, a team of Michigan Medicine researchers investigated the role of an epigenetic enzyme called JMJD3 in the development of AAAs. They found the gene was turned on in people who had an AAA and that the gene promoted inflammation in monocyte/macrophages. When they blocked the enzyme, it prevented an aneurysm from forming.
“Targeting the JMJD3 pathway in a cell specific-manner offers the opportunity to limit AAA progression and rupture,” says lead author Frank Davis, MD, Vascular Surgery Resident at the Frankel Cardiovascular Center at Michigan Medicine..
“We are the first to perform an extensive single-cell RNA sequencing and gene expression analysis on human AAAs and non-aneurysmal aortic control samples,” Gallagher adds.
