In order to promote synthetic biology and iGEM program, exploring the issues of rigor and biosafety and improving our project design, we were lucky to interview several experts in thoracic surgery and cardiology.

Prof. Zhao is mainly engaged in the clinical treatment of cardiovascular disease and heart failure. He pointed out that the main clinical treatment for heart failure is medication currently. And the most important drugs are the so-called Golden Triangle, which consist in ACEi/ARB, βRB and diuretic. After decades of clinical practice, medications have been matured. However, these drugs can only delay the symptoms and do not improve or prolong the patients’ survival time.. Therefore, the prospect of gene therapy is broad.

In addition, Professor Zhao gave a high evaluation to our project, and his speech was very inspiring for us.

Dr. Zhao Xianxian, Depart. Of Cardiology, Shanghai Changhai Hospital

Dr. He is mainly engaged in basic research on heart failure treatment. He pointed out that organisms have evolved a complete immune system for targeted clearance of exogenous proteins. Therefore, whether the plasmids and antibodies we introduce can escape the immune system is a key to success. In addition, if the idea of introducing exogenous genes into mammals or humans would cause genetic contamination remains to be discussed.

In general, Dr. He’s opinion was very instructive for us, and we finally decided to use intracellular antibodies to avoid the humoral immune system.

Dr. He Zhiqing, Depart. Of Cardiology, Shanghai Changzheng Hospital

Prof. Wang specializes in cardiovascular diseases and surgical treatment of atrial fibrillation. Heart failure is not only a disease, but also an economic burden for a patient. It also imposes a huge burden on the family and society. It contains acute and chronic heart failure, but also causes a variety of other heart diseases. Our project is based on calcium disorders and may have a positive impact on myocardial micro-remodeling. But we can't just confine ourselves to this aspect, we must broaden our horizons. He hopes that we can communicate more with others, maintain the spirit of exploration, and keep moving forward.

Dr. Wang Zhinong, Depart. Of Cardiothoracic Surgery, Shanghai Changzheng Hospital

Dr. Liu mainly studies surgical treatment of coronary heart disease and aortic dissection. He said that the design principle of our project is very clever. However, gene transcription and translational expression take a long time, which limits its clinical application. For example, acute heart failure can only be treated by emergency medical intervention. At present, Entresto is a new-developed drug to treat heart failure. And its main components are Sacubitrilat and Valsartan, and its clinical effect is remarkable. However, it is worth mentioning that the prospect of gene therapy is broad, even if the research of stem cell therapy is progressing slowly.

Dr. Liu Yang, Depart. Of Cardiothoracic Surgery, Shanghai Changhai Hospital

We also listened a lecture on cell therapy given by professor Erwin Neher, a Nobel laureate. Prof. Erwin Neher specializes in cellular ion channel function. His work helped to explain the mechanism of heart disease. After the lecture, we presented our project to him. He speak highly on our project and encouraged us try to find out more courses for treatment on HF next year.

Prof. Erwin Neher, Nobel laureate in Physiology or Medicine in 1997