Professor Jaecheol LEE (School of Pharmacy)’s research team announced that they have discovered the cause of cardiac diseases and opened new path for the development of medicine.

This research was conducted under the auspices of Ministry of Science and ICT research programs and has been conducted as a joint research with Stanford University. The result has been posted on journal “Nature” on July 18^th.

Title: Activation of PDGF pathway links LMNA mutation to dilated cardiomyopathy

Authors: Prof. Jaecheol LEE, Joseph C. Wu (Stanford University), Vittavat Termglinchan (Stanford University)

Dilated Cardiomyo pathy (DCM) is a common disease in Korea but the exact cause has not yet been discovered.

Research team tried to discover the cause by collecting iPSC stem cell from the family member of the DCM patient. Using the genetic scissor, they examined that the nuclear membrane of heart cell returns to normal status when it is readjusted normally. They also found out that the nuclear membrane becomes abnormal when it is reversed.

The team concluded that the abnormal status of the nuclear membrane due to gene modification causes epigenetic change,which results in abnormal activation of platelet-derived growth factor. This research has shown the target of the medicine and have created possibility of using modified drugs that has been already approved by the FDA to cure cardiac diseases. 

Prof. LEE said, “In the era of precision medicine, we need a technology that can experimentally verify the prediction system. This research was a case that showed the possibility of developing new medicine to treat cardiac diseases.”