A new research which is claimed to be helpful in refocus the search for new drug targets aimed at preventing or reversing the devastating tissue inflammation that results after heart attack and stroke, has been done by researchers of Albany Medical College.

Lead author Alejandro P. Adam and his colleagues at the college''s Center for Cardiovascular Science are reporting that vascular cells'' ability to properly regulate fluid movement is not necessarily affected solely by the activity of an enzyme that for years has been in the crosshairs of scientists and pharmaceutical developers, in the March 5 issue of the Journal of Biological Chemistry.

Adam, a postdoctoral fellow at the cardiovascular center, said," Learning the mechanisms of inflammation is a key step in the development of new and better therapies to improve the outcome of widespread pathologies, such as stroke, heart attack, septic shock and pulmonary edema. To determine which are the best targets for treatment, we need to understand exactly what role each molecule is playing in the regulation of the vessel walls, and we found that the enzyme Src may be needed to get changes in barrier function but by itself is not sufficient."

Professor Peter A. Vincent, who oversaw the team''s research further explained," We found that Src indeed adds several phosphates to this protein, but this addition of the phosphates did not alter barrier function of the endothelial cells. These findings suggest other pathways are needed for Src to change permeability and open the door to future studies to determine what these other signals are." (With input form agencies)