Rhian M. Touyz

CADASIL and Notch3 from bedside to bench: defining new therapies for vascular dementia

Rhian M. Touyz, MBBCh, PhD
Professor
Departments of Medicine and Family Medicine, McGill University
Executive Director and Chief Scientific Officer, Research Institute of the McGill University Health Centre (RI-MUHC) 

This conference is organized by Nabil G. Seidah. It is part of the 2021-2022 IRCM conference calendar.

In person: 
IRCM Auditorium
110, avenue des Pins O, H2W 1R7 Montreal
Wearing a mask is mandatory at all times

Online:
Zoom Link : https://zoom.us/j/95269762104
ID : 952 6976 2104
Code : 476372

IRCM conferences are set to occur under a hybrid format. However, please note that last-minute changes to online-only lectures may occur due to unforeseen circumstances. We invite you to visit this webpage again a few days before attending.

About the conference:
Notch3 mutations cause Cerebral Autosomal Dominant Arteriopathy with Subcortical Infarcts and Leukoenephalopathy (CADASIL), which predisposes to premature vascular dementia and stroke. CADASIL is a small vessel disease of the brain characterized by vascular dysfunction and granular osmiophilic material accumulation. We demonstrated that systemic vessels are also impacted by Notch3 mutations. However molecular mechanisms underlying the vasculopathy remain elusive. We discovered that gain of function Notch3 mutations signal through Rho kinase and involve ER stress and impaired redox-sensitive and eNOS/sGC/cGMP pathways. Targeting the Rho kinase pathway may be an attractive therapeutic strategy to promote vascular health in small vessel disease associated with vascular dementia. 

About Rhian M. Touyz:
Dr. Rhian M. Touyz is the Executive Director and Chief Scientific Officer of the Research Institute of the McGill University Health Centre. She is the Dr. Phil Gold Chair in Medicine McGill University, Montreal, Canada. Her research focuses on the molecular and vascular biology of hypertension and target organ damage, particularly: 1) vascular signaling and redox biology; 2) adipose biology and cardiometabolic disease; 3) cardiovascular toxicity of anti-cancer drugs, 4) small vessel disease and vascular dementia, 5) pathophysiology and management of human hypertension. Dr. Touyz has received numerous awards, including the Dahl Award, the Harriet Dustan Award, the Hypertension Research Excellence Award (Council on hypertension, American Heart Association), the Robert M. Berne Award (American Physiological Society), the RD Wright Award (BPRC, Australia), the Irvine Page Award (ASH) and the Joan Mott Award (Physiology Society). Her work, funded by the Leducq foundation, CIHR, HSFC, JDRF, BHF, MRC and Wellcome Trust, has led to 575 publications. 

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