– MARGINALIZE-MI

Acute Myocardial Infarction, commonly known as a heart attack, is one of the leading causes of death globally, and the cost of healthcare for patients with this type of heart disease is estimated to be in the billions of euros annually. Recent evidence highlights the instrumental roles of the inflammatory reaction in the alteration of cardiac function after a heart attack.
This project seeks to develop a new therapeutic approach targeting a population of inflammatory cells to improve cardiac function after a heart attack. More precisely, we will develop an immunotherapy strategy through the development of antibodies directed against the deleterious inflammatory cells in order to eliminate them. We will first characterize these harmful inflammatory cells, then we will develop specific antibodies directed against these cells and finally we will test their therapeutic effectiveness on the function of the cardiac muscle after a myocardial infarction. In other words, we will seek to repair the broken heart by reducing its inflamed state.