Katrina Bicknell

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+44 (0) 118 378 7032
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Professor
- Professor in Cardiovascular and Regenerative Medicine
- Head of Department
Areas of interest
- TGF-beta signaling and cardiomyocyte growth
- Forkhead transcription factors and cardiomyocyte growth
- Molecular mechanisms that control limit cardiac repair
- Stem cells and cardiac repair
- Natural products and stem cell differentiation
Background
Coronary artery disease is the most common form of heart disease, affecting over one million people in the UK. This occurs when atherosclerotic lesions obstruct the flow of blood though the coronary vessels that supply the heart. Narrowing or blockage of these vessels leads to myocardial ischemia, which can result in angina, a heart attack (myocardial infarction), sudden cardiac death and/or heart failure. If the blood supply is not restored rapidly to the ischaemic region of the heart, myocardial infarction can result in terminal loss of cardiomyocytes, leading to permanent myocardial damage.
Damaged myocardial tissue cannot be replaced, as the proliferative capacity of surviving cardiomyocytes is severely limited. Instead, within hours of the injury, cardiac remodelling is initiated and this progresses over weeks and months. Maladaptive left ventricular remodelling after myocardial infarction is a leading cause of heart failure and includes the development of cardiomyocyte hypertrophy to compensate for lost functional myocardium and replacement of the necrotic myocardial region with an inflexible scar. Thus, understanding what limits myocardial repair following injury and the development of novel therapeutic strategies to promote cardiac regeneration following myocardial infarction are of great importance.
The aim of my research is to expand our understanding of the molecular mechanisms that limit cardiac repair following injury. For instance, we do not fully understand the molecular events that prevent cardiomyocyte proliferation and promote cardiac hypertrophic growth in the injured adult mammalian heart. An increased understanding of the molecular mechanisms that control cardiomyocyte growth might aid the development of therapies aimed at re-initiating myocardial cell division to repair an injured myocardium or to treat detrimental cardiac hypertrophy that can lead to heart failure.
Publications
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Asadpour, A.
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Yahaya, B.
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Bicknell, K.
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Cottrell, G.
ORCID: 0000-0001-9098-7627 , Widera, D.
ORCID: 0000-0003-1686-130X (2023) Uncovering the gray zone: mapping the global landscape of direct-to-consumer businesses offering interventions based on secretomes, extracellular vesicles, and exosomes. Stem cell research and therapy , 14 (1). ISSN: 1757-6512 | doi: https://dx.doi.org/10.1186/s13287-023-03335-2
- Swioklo, S. , Watson, K. , Williamson, E. , Farrimond, J. , Putnam, S. , Bicknell, K. (2015) Defining key structural determinants for the pro-osteogenic activity of flavonoids. Journal of Natural Products , 78 (11). pp. 2598-2608. ISSN: 1520-6025 | doi: https://dx.doi.org/10.1021/acs.jnatprod.5b00075
- Dannoura, A. , Giraldo, A. , Pereira, I. , Gibbins, J. , Dash, P. , Bicknell, K. , Brooks, G. (2014) Ibuprofen inhibits migration and proliferation of human coronary artery smooth muscle cells by inducing a differentiated phenotype: role of peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor y. Journal of Pharmacy and Pharmacology , 66 (6). pp. 779-792. ISSN: 0022-3573 | doi: https://dx.doi.org/10.1111/jphp.12203
- Aravindan, L. , Bicknell, K. , Brooks, G. , Khutoryanskiy, V. , Williams, A. (2013) A comparison of thiolated and disulfideācrosslinked polyethylenimine for nonviral gene delivery. Macromolecular Bioscience , 13 (9). pp. 1163-1173. ISSN: 1616-5187 | doi: https://dx.doi.org/10.1002/mabi.201300103
- Moseley, F. , Faircloth, M. , Lockwood, W. , Marber, M. , Bicknell, K. , Valasek, P. , Brooks, G. (2011) Limitations of the MRL mouse as a model for cardiac regeneration. Journal of Pharmacy and Pharmacology , 63 (5). pp. 648-656. ISSN: 2042-7148 | doi: https://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.2042-7158.2011.01261.x
- Aravindan, L. , Bicknell, K. , Brooks, G. , Khutoryanskiy, V. , Williams, A. (2009) Effect of acyl chain length on transfection efficiency and toxicity of polyethylenimine . International Journal of Pharmaceutics , 378 (1-2). pp. 201-210. ISSN: 0378-5173 | doi: https://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.ijpharm.2009.05.052
- Bicknell, K. , Harmer, S. , Yiangson, S. , Lockwood, W. , Bicknell, A. (2009) Lys-gamma3-MSH: a global regulator of hormone sensitive lipase activity?. Molecular and Cellular Endocrinology , 300 (1-2). pp. 71-76. ISSN: 0303-7207 | doi: https://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.mce.2008.09.032
- Coxon, C. , Bicknell, K. , Moseley, F. , Brooks, G. (2009) Over expression of Plk1 does not induce cell division in rat cardiac myocytes in vitro. PLoS ONE , 4 (8). ISSN: 1932-6203 | doi: https://dx.doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0006752
- Bicknell, . and Brooks, G. (2008) Reprogramming the cell cycle machinery to treat cardiovascular disease. Current Opinion in Pharmacology , 8 (2). pp. 193-201. ISSN: 1471-4892 | doi: https://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.coph.2007.12.015
- Bicknell, . , Coxon, . , Brooks, G. (2007) Can the cardiomyocyte cell cycle be reprogrammed?. Journal of Molecular and Cellular Cardiology , 42 (4). pp. 706-721. ISSN: 0022-2828 | doi: https://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.yjmcc.2007.01.006
- Moseley, . , Bicknell, . , Marber, . , Brooks, G. (2007) The use of proteomics to identify novel therapeutic targets for the treatment of disease. Journal of Pharmacy and Pharmacology , 59 (5). pp. 609-628. ISSN: 0022-3573 | doi: https://dx.doi.org/10.1211/jpp.59.5.0001
- Putnam, . , Scutt, . , Bicknell, . , Priestley, . , Williamson, . (2007) Natural products as alternative treatments for metabolic bone disorders and for maintenance of bone health. Phytotherapy Research , 21 (2). pp. 99-112. ISSN: 0951-418X | doi: https://dx.doi.org/10.1002/ptr.2030
- McKoy, G. , Bicknell, K. , Patel, K. , Brooks, G. , (2007) Developmental expression of myostatin in cardiomyocytes and its effect on foetal and neonatal rat cardiomyocyte proliferation. Cardiovascular Research , 74 (2). pp. 304-312. ISSN: 0008-6363 | doi: https://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.cardiores.2007.02.023
- Dove, . , Bicknell, . , Brooks, G. , Harrison, . , Hiscox, . (2006) Infectious bronchitis coronavirus induces cell-cycle perturbations. In: Perlman, . and Holmes, . , (eds.) Nidoviruses: toward control of SARS and other nidovirus diseases. Advances in Experimental Medicine and Biology , 581. Springer-Verlag , Berlin. pp. 357-362. ISBN: 9780387262024
- Movassagh, . , Bicknell, K. , Brooks, . (2006) Characterisation and regulation of E2F-6 and E2F-6b in the rat heart: a potential target for myocardial regeneration?. Journal of Pharmacy and Pharmacology , 58 (1). pp. 73-82. ISSN: 0022-3573 | doi: https://dx.doi.org/10.1211/jpp.58.1.0009
- Dove, . , Brooks, G. , Bicknell, K. , Wurm, . , Hiscox, . (2006) Cell cycle perturbations induced by infection with the coronavirus infectious bronchitis virus and their effect on virus replication. Journal of Virology , 80 (8). pp. 4147-4156. ISSN: 0022-538X | doi: https://dx.doi.org/10.1128/jvi.80.8.4147-4156.2006
- Bicknell, K. , Brooks, . , Kaiser, . , Chen, . , Dove, . , Hiscox, . (2005) Nucleolin is regulated both at the level of transcription and translation. Biochemical and Biophysical Research Communications , 332 (3). pp. 817-822. ISSN: 0006-291X | doi: https://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.bbrc.2005.05.022
- Bicknell, K. (2005) Forkhead (FOX) transcription factors and the cell cycle: measurement of DNA binding by FoxO and FoxM transcription factors. Methods Mol Biol , 296 pp. 247-62. ISSN: 1064-3745 | doi: https://dx.doi.org/10.1385/1-59259-857-9:247
- Bicknell, K. , Coxon, . , Brooks, . (2004) Forced expression of the cyclin B1-CDC2 complex induces proliferation in adult rat cardiomyocytes. The Biochemical Journal , 382 (2). pp. 411-6. ISSN: 1470-8728
- Bicknell, K. , Surry, E. , Brooks, G. (2003) Targeting the cell cycle machinery for the treatment of cardiovascular disease. Journal of Pharmacy and Pharmacology , 55 (5). pp. 571-591. ISSN: 2042-7158 | doi: https://dx.doi.org/10.1211/002235703765344487
- Bicknell, K. and Brooks, G. (2002) Methods for delivering DNA to target tissues and cells. In: Brooks, G. , (eds.) Gene Therapy: Use of DNA as a Drug. The Pharmaceutical Press , UK. pp. 23-49. ISBN: 9780853694557