DrJavier Barallobre Barreiro

The main focus of our research concerns the remodelling of the cardiac extracellular matrix, with a particular emphasis in proteoglycans. Tissue fibrosis is a hallmark of most cases of cardiovascular disease and includes modification and deposition of extracellular matrix. We use proteomics in combination with clinical samples and animal models to investigate the mechanisms that drive extracellular matrix protein clearance and accumulation. Over the years, we have investigated this in samples from patients with ischaemic heart disease, dilated cardiomyopathy or atrial fibrillation, among others, and in foetal cardiac development. We have also used large animal models and developed transgenic mice with defective proteoglycan clearance, allowing us to obtain a deeper understanding of the involvement of this extracellular matrix components in cardiovascular disease and development.