Main Line Health, Mayo researchers find natural product may prevent sudden cardiac death from rare inherited syndromes
Wynnewood, PA — In 2020, a team of cardiovascular experts from the Lankenau Institute for Medical Research (LIMR), part of Main Line Health, used experimental models to discover that a natural product found in plants including safflower holds promise for treating a pair of hereditary sudden cardiac death syndromes.
Now, collaborators from LIMR and Mayo Clinic have provided clinical evidence in a new study that acacetin may be the new agent for which cardiologists have been searching. Results were published earlier this month in the journal Circulation: Genomic and Precision Medicine.
“These findings give us optimism that our pioneering work at LIMR will translate into results that save patient lives,” said Charles Antzelevitch, PhD, executive director of LIMR’s Cardiovascular Research Program. “Further studies are clearly warranted to better understand the mechanisms by which acacetin can be beneficial in the treatment of cardiac arrhythmias.”
Antzelevitch and Mayo’s Michael J. Ackerman, MD, PhD, served as senior authors. Héctor Barajas-Martínez, PhD, a LIMR research professor, was a coauthor.
In the study, LIMR and Mayo investigators demonstrated that acacetin exerts its beneficial effects by altering ion channel activity within the cells of the heart.
Brugada syndrome and early repolarization syndrome fall under the umbrella of J-wave syndromes. They have overlapping cellular and genetic features characterized by irregular heart rhythms. Brugada syndrome affects about 5 of every 10,000 people worldwide. People with it can often die in their sleep. Early repolarization is a common finding in electrocardiograms, but recent studies show the usually benign condition can lead to sudden cardiac death secondary to development of cardiac arrhythmias.
J-wave syndromes have been the focus of increasing interest in the cardiology community over the last quarter-century. Antzelevitch and his colleagues have pioneered studies focused on the cellular and genetic basis for these life-threatening syndromes over that period.
The new study focused on a Brugada syndrome patient with a mutation in the KCND3 gene. Mayo performed testing with induced pluripotent stem cells, which are derived from skin or blood cells that have been reprogrammed to differentiate into cardiomyocytes, cells responsible for the contracting force in the heart.
Acacetin is a compound distributed in numerous types of plant pigments and is responsible for many of the colors in nature. The research teams believe it may be superior to quinidine, which is one of the current pharmaceutical options for treatment of the J-wave syndromes.
Acacetin is also considered an attractive therapeutic target to treat inflammatory and immunological disorders.
About Lankenau Institute for Medical Research
Lankenau Institute for Medical Research (LIMR), part of Main Line Health, is a nonprofit biomedical research institute on the campus of Lankenau Medical Center celebrating its landmark 100th anniversary of scientific accomplishment in Fall 1927. LIMR's mission is to improve human health and well-being. Through its ACAPRENEURIAL™ organizational model, which integrates academic and entrepreneurial approaches, LIMR faculty and staff advance innovative strategies to address formidable medical challenges including cancer, cardiovascular disease, tissue regeneration, gastrointestinal disorders and autoimmune diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis. LIMR's principal investigators conduct basic, preclinical and clinical research, using their findings to improve disease detection, diagnosis, treatment and prevention. They are committed to extending the boundaries of human health through technology transfer and training the next generation of scientists and physicians.
About Main Line Health
Main Line Health® is a not-for-profit health system serving the greater Philadelphia region. The System comprises five hospitals, seven health centers, more than 160 outpatient and physician practice locations, over 14,500 employees and more than 2,200 employed and independent physicians and advanced practice providers.
Founded in 1985, Main Line Health includes four of the region’s most respected acute care hospitals — Lankenau Medical Center, Bryn Mawr Hospital, Paoli Hospital and Riddle Hospital — as well as Bryn Mawr Rehab Hospital, one of the nation’s premier facilities for rehabilitative medicine. The System also includes Mirmont Treatment Center, which provides treatment and support for substance use disorders; Main Line Health HomeCare & Hospice; Main Line HealthCare, its employed multispecialty physician network; Lankenau Institute for Medical Research, a leading biomedical research organization; and Main Line Health Centers offering primary and specialty care, lab, radiology and other outpatient services in Broomall, Collegeville, Concordville, Devon, Exton, King of Prussia and Newtown Square.
Main Line Health brings together physicians, advanced practice providers, nurses, researchers and other healthcare professionals across a broad network of inpatient, outpatient, home-based and community-based services. Through this integrated approach, the System delivers high-quality, comprehensive care across the continuum — from primary care and preventive services to complex specialty, surgical, trauma, emergency, rehabilitative, behavioral health, home care and hospice services — with a focus on making care accessible in the communities where people live and work.
Main Line Health also collaborates with leading clinical partners to expand access to specialized care. Through its affiliation with Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, pediatric care is provided at select Main Line Health locations, including neonatal intensive care units at its acute care hospitals and Bryn Mawr Hospital’s Inpatient Pediatric Unit and Emergency Department. Jefferson Health neurosurgeons and neurointerventionalists also provide 24/7 specialized care, including neurointervention and lifesaving stroke care.