Summary
Dr Sean Bello, a cardiothoracic surgeon specialised in advanced cardiac support therapies and heart-lung transplantation, completed a BHF funded PhD project at the Imperial Centre for Translational and Experimental Medicine (ICTEM) laboratory of the National Heart and Lung Institute, Imperial College London. He investigated the role left ventricular assist devices (LVADs) play in promoting reverse remodelling of the failing heart with particular emphasis on the effect of mechanical unloading on the regenerative capacity of the adult heart. Furthermore, by using reperfusion and prolonged unloading in a rat model of heterotopic abdominal heart transplantation, he investigated the effect of this combined strategy on the propagation of myocardial fibrosis after a heart attack. His investigation involved a range of techniques to identify changes in collagen amount and localization, cellular remodelling and cellular proliferation. He also carried out pressure-volume loop studies to assess ex vivo rat ‘whole heart’ systolic and diastolic functional performances after unloading using a Radnoti working heart apparatus.
Following award of his PhD, Dr Bello now continues his scientific collaboration with the research team at Imperial College London in an honorary capacity.
Publications
Journals
Wright PT, Sanchez-Alonso JL, Lucarelli C, et al., 2018, Partial mechanical unloading of the heart disrupts L-type calcium channel and beta-adrenoceptor signaling microdomains, Frontiers in Physiology, Vol:9, ISSN:1664-042X
Wright P, Lucarelli C, Sanchez-Alonso, et al., 2018, Mechanical Unloading Suppresses Localized Beta-2 Adrenoceptor and L-type Calcium Channel Function in Healthy and Failing Cardiomyocytes, Circulation 136(suppl_1.18365):14 Nov 2017
Bello S, Singh C, Jayakumar S, et al., 2018, Role of Cardiomyocyte Regeneration in Mechanical Unloading Induced Reverse Cardiac Remodeling, Circulation 134(suppl_1.20205):11 Nov 2016, ISSN:0009-7322
Bello S, Singh C, Punjabi P, et al., 2017, Coronary Reperfusion Ameliorates the Deleterious Effect of Mechanical Unloading on Infarct Size and Interstitial Fibrosis After Acute Myocardial Infarction, Circulation, Vol:136
Mawad D, Mansfield C, Lauto A, et al., 2016, A conducting polymer with enhanced electronic stability applied in cardiac models, Science Advances, Vol:2, ISSN:2375-2548