Levels of cardiotrophin CT-1, an essential protein in the heart development , are elevated in cardiomyocytes exposed to hypoxia. In addition, this protein is involved in the survival process of cardiomyocytes in response to hypoxic stress.

One of the main findings of this work is that the hypoxia-inducible transcription factor-1 (HIF-1) has been identified as the manager of this compensatory cellular response, since it induces the expression of CT-1 protein in the absence of oxygen. "We found that hypoxia led to an increase in CT-1 protein levels, which was reduced by inhibiting the HIF-1 factor, and we identified in detail the mechanism of transcriptional regulation. But the most interesting thing was to see that silencing CT-1 increased cell death," explains Dr. Guillermo Zalba, researcher principal of laboratory of Hypertensive Vascular Disease.