Basic Biology of Blood, Heart and Vasculature – BBHV

Topics

• Basic studies blood, heart and vascular cells and tissues: “Omics”, stem cell biology and regenerative medicine (including hematopoiesis and cardiac differentiation), cell lineage and cell fate studies.
• Basic mechanisms for red blood cells or hemoglobin to carry oxygen, white blood cells and platelet adhesion, migration or interactions, platelet activation, shape change, release and aggregation.
• Gene therapy and gene editing technology: Transcriptional and posttranscriptional regulation of gene expression. Signaling, epigenetics, cell-cell interactions with adhesion molecules; chemokines, cytokines.
• Vascular cell development, differentiation and proliferation. Angiogenesis, apoptosis, and autophagy.
• Protein biochemistry and structural biology of components of the blood, heart and vasculature: Including cardiac and vascular ion channels, ion exchangers, and ion pumps.
• Intercellular communication of blood, vascular and heart cells. Exosomes, ectosomes, microvesicles, microparticles. Electrical propagation of cardiovascular cells. Cell fission and fusion.
• Cardiac myocytes: Contractile function and mechanical stress generation. Calcium regulation and signaling and involvement of the vasculature.
• Cardiac hypertrophy, heart failure and heart disease: Molecular and cellular mechanisms, Myocyte growth, proliferation, metabolism and apoptosis; receptor signaling; transcriptional pathways; inflammatory/ cytokine-mediated processes.
  • Cellular mechanisms of arrhythmogenesis: genes and proteins involved.
  • Genetic cardiomyopathies: genotype-phenotype correlation; genomic and proteomic approaches.
  • Mechanisms for myocardial cell dysfunction, death (apoptosis/necrosis) and autophagy. Impact of diet, obesity or systemic metabolic disorders on myocardial metabolism mitochondrial function, or the response to ischemia/reperfusion.
  • Excitability, electrical propagation and repolarization in normal and diseased hearts; intercellular communication including gap junctions/connexins.

Shared Interests and Overlaps

In general, application assignment to the basic science focused BBHV versus the more translational panels IVPP, AVI, HTBT, MPPA, MPPB is driven largely by the weight of the approach. Applications applying standard approaches to address questions of therapeutics, disease progression or pathophysiology would go to the more translational panel. Applications addressing fundamental studies in these areas that require expertise in structural biology, cell biology, genetics, imaging or biomechanics to evaluate go to BBHV.

BBHV and Integrative Vascular Physiology and Pathology (IVPP) have shared interests in using stem cells and in regenerative medicine. Applications that emphasize grafts, stents, re-endothelization and stem cell treatments will be reviewed in IVPP. Applications that emphasize all types of heart, blood and hematopoietic regenerative medicine and stem cell science will be reviewed in BBHV.

BBHV and Atherosclerosis and Vascular Inflammation (AVI) have shared interests in endothelial cells, smooth muscle cells, and inflammatory cells. Applications that emphasize endothelial cells, smooth muscle cells, and inflammatory cells in the context of atherosclerosis will be reviewed in AVI. Applications that emphasize endothelial cells, smooth muscle cells, and inflammatory cells in the context of basic science studies will be reviewed in BBHV.

BBHV and Hemostasis, Thrombosis, Blood Cells and Transfusion Study Section (HTBT) have shared interests in blood research. Applications that involve the mechanism of action, the involvement of blood cells in disease and all transfusion related applications are reviewed in HTBT. Applications that emphasize basic blood cell biology, structure or omics are reviewed in BBHV.

BBHV and Integrative Myocardial Physiology/Pathophysiology A (MPPA) have shared interests in the area of myocyte cardiac hypertrophy, myocyte interactions, cardiomyocyte contractile function as well at metabolism and energetics aspects of heart disease. Applications that emphasize these functions on humans will be reviewed in MPPA. Applications that emphasize these functions on cells and tissues will be reviewed in BBHV.

BBHV and Integrative Myocardial Physiology/Pathophysiology B (MPPB) have shared interest in the area of myocardial dysfunction, myocardial cell death, aspects of electrical excitability and propagation of signals between normal and diseased hearts and arrhythmogenesis. Applications that emphasize these functions on humans will be assigned to MPPB. Applications that emphasize these functions on cells and tissues will be reviewed in BBHV.

BBHV and Bioengineering, Technology and Surgical Sciences Study Section (BTSS) have shared interests in regenerative medicine. Applications that emphasize regenerative medicine and wound healing, including the development of advanced tools and techniques, in the design, construction, and function of cellular and tissue-engineered constructs for surgical based interventions will be reviewed in BTSS. Applications that emphasize hematopoietic stem and progenitor cells in hematopoiesis, transplantation, homing, migration, and gene therapy will be reviewed in BBHV.

BBHV and Cardiovascular Differentiation and Development Study Section (CDD) have shared interests in stem cells. Applications that empathize the ability of stem cells to correct tissue damage and which look at cell lineage and cell fate will be reviewed in BBHV.

BBHV and Development-1 and 2 (DEV 1, DEV2) have shared interests in stem cell biology. Applications that empathize stem cell fate studies in cardiac, blood and vascular cells or hematopoietic stem and progenitor cells are typically assigned to BBHV.