# Molecular Mechanisms of Rapamycin - Induced Reversal of Cardiac Aging

> **NIH NIH R00** · OKLAHOMA MEDICAL RESEARCH FOUNDATION · 2021 · $249,000

## Abstract

Project Summary/Abstract
Aging is a dominant risk factor for cardiovascular disease, the leading cause of death in the United States.
Even in individuals without concomitant cardiovascular disease, aging results in progressive structural and
functional decline of the hearts. Aging is associated with a decline in diastolic function, an increase in the
prevalence of left ventricular hypertrophy, reduced cardiac reserve, and impaired myocardial performance.
Decline in diastolic function is a hallmark of cardiac aging, and there is presently no treatment for diastolic
failure (heart failure with preserved ejection fraction, HFpEF), which is especially prevalent in aged women.
Although the phenotypes of cardiac aging are well-characterized, the molecular mechanisms of cardiac aging
are not well established and no intervention has been developed to treat cardiac aging or HFpEF.
Recently, our lab has shown that late-life rapamycin treatment of 10 weeks can reverse established murine
cardiac aging, including a reversal of diastolic dysfunction. However, the mechanism of this protective effect is
not well characterized. The objective of the proposed study is to determine how rapamycin reverses age-
related diastolic dysfunction and define the signaling pathways that mediate the reversal. I hypothesize that
rapamycin reverses age-related diastolic dysfunction by triggering improved cardiomyocyte calcium
handling and beneficial ECM remodeling by inhibitions of both TORC1 and TORC2 signaling. To
address this hypothesis, I will 1) determine the mechanisms by which rapamycin treatment rejuvenates
cardiomyocytes to improve diastolic function in old hearts; 2) determine the mechanisms by which rapamycin
treatment remodels extracellular matrix to improve diastolic function in old hearts; and 3) determine the
contributions of TORC1 and TORC2 signaling on rapamycin rejuvenating benefits and define the downstream
signaling pathways.
In the mentored phase, I will receive trainings from my mentors and master the skills required for the proposed
study. This award will facilitate my transition into an independent investigator in cardiac aging research. The
results of study will lead to fundamental insights into key regulators of cardiac healthspan and help guide future
translational studies of rapamycin treatment for HFpEF, a previously untreatable disease of aging.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10090541
- **Project number:** 5R00AG051735-05
- **Recipient organization:** OKLAHOMA MEDICAL RESEARCH FOUNDATION
- **Principal Investigator:** Ying Ann Chiao
- **Activity code:** R00 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2021
- **Award amount:** $249,000
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2019-06-01 → 2022-12-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10090541

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10090541, Molecular Mechanisms of Rapamycin - Induced Reversal of Cardiac Aging (5R00AG051735-05). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-23 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10090541. Licensed CC0.

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