Inhibiting osteopontin for atrial fibrillation

Targeting osteopontin, a secreted protein encoded by SPP1 that associates with the extracellular matrix, could help atrial fibrillation by preventing macrophage-mediated cardiac inflammation.

Single-cell RNA sequencing of left atrial tissue from atrial fibrillation patients showed increased expression of osteopontin and the macrophage recruitment regulator CCR2 compared with atrial tissue from individuals without the disease, and the frequency of osteopontin-expressing macrophages was higher in diseased tissues; similar results were found in a mouse model of atrial fibrillation. ...