University of Minnesota scientists in collaboration with Celladon Corporation of La Jolla, CA, have developed technology to rapidly identify compounds for the treatment of heart failure. The technology allows for increased screening efficiency of compounds capable of disrupting the interactions of proteins implicated in the development of heart failure. Fluorescence resonance energy transfer (FRET) is used to measure disruption of the calcium regulatory system, which has long been implicated in cardiovascular disease. Because compounds that decrease FRET are good candidates for further development, researchers now will have key information early in the screening process about the likelihood that a particular drug will succeed. The high-throughput assay developed by the university research team is based on a reconstituted membrane system composed of purified lipid and protein components. The technique is important because the interactions of integral membrane proteins are more complex than soluble proteins, making it difficult to produce a synthetic system that recapitulates the cellular interactions in a large-scale and reproducible manner. U-Minn granted Celladon an exclusive license to use the technology to develop molecular therapies for cardiovascular diseases. Celladon also provided funding for the research that allowed researchers to further refine the assay.<\/p>\n