Aya Shiraki Professor

Research overview

Exploration of novel treatments for cardiovascular diseases that increase healthy life expectancy also Research to find better treatments
Heart failure is expected to become a pandemic in the future due to an increase in the number of survivors of acute cardiovascular diseases (people who have been or are being treated) and an increasingly aging society. Under such circumstances, we are continuing our research on elucidating the pathological mechanism of cardiovascular diseases and approaches to treatment, aiming for a future where people can enjoy a long life by increasing the healthy lifespan as much as possible.

■ New approaches to treatment of heart failure
While treatment with drugs such as RA inhibitors, β-blockers and MRA, and cardiac resynchronization therapy have been established as treatments for heart failure, we believe that changes in cardiac energy metabolism and nutritional status are the causes of heart failure and therefore could provide clues to the solution. Using an animal model of non-diabetic dilated cardiomyopathy, we conducted research by measuring metabolism by indirect calorimetry using the ARCO2000 system and measuring mitochondrial function using Oxygraph-2k. As a result, it could be demonstrated that GLP-1RA causes myocardial energy deficiency in heart failure, and that an appropriate intake of carbohydrates while receiving GLP-1RA dramatically improved heart failure outcomes. The results of this research were obtained using a different approach from the treatment methods that are focused on cytokine factors, and I think that eventually this new method will lead to effective treatments for heart failure. The research was evaluated highly, and I received the highest award for female researcher encouragement of the Japanese Circulation Society at the Kyushu Regional Association meeting in December 2020.

■ Development of vaccine treatments for cardiovascular diseases
As a new treatment for cardiovascular diseases, we have been conducting research on increasing EETs in the body through the use of an sEH inhibiting vaccine, and we are proceeding with the research with a view to applying it to humans in the near future. By inoculating with this vaccine, a simple and inexpensive long-term therapeutic effect on chronic heart failure, suppression of remodeling after myocardial infarction, arteriosclerosis, etc. can be expected.

Although treatments for cardiovascular diseases have evolved rapidly over the last 20 years or so, it is clear that the heart is damaged due to the disease and the incidence of diseases with a poor prognosis is still on the increase. We are working constantly with the hope that our research would lead to novel treatments.


*At Saga University, we adhere to the 3Rs of animal research while doing experiments with animals.