Retired HGV driver undergoes heart bypass with gene therapy

A 73-year-old retired HGV driver became the first person in the Protect clinical trial to receive TIMP-3 gene therapy applied to a vein graft during coronary bypass surgery, and he has reported improved energy and mobility since the operation.

John MacDonald, 73, is the first person enrolled in a clinical trial that applies gene therapy to veins used in coronary artery bypass grafting. He had a heart attack in August on the Isle of Lewis and was flown to the Golden Jubilee University National Hospital for specialist care funded by the British Heart Foundation. During his open heart surgery surgeons used a vein from his leg as a graft and treated it with a viral vector carrying the TIMP-3 gene before grafting it onto the heart. The trial, called Protect, is led by NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde in partnership with the University of Glasgow and other collaborators. Key facts: - The procedure treated the leg vein graft with a viral vector carrying the TIMP-3 gene, which is involved in tissue remodelling. - Treatment was applied to the vein after removal from the leg and to affected tissue before the graft was placed into the heart. - The Protect study is led by NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde and the University of Glasgow, with collaboration from the Golden Jubilee, the University of Edinburgh, and support from the Medical Research Council and the British Heart Foundation. - Vein grafts can narrow or block over time because they are not designed for the high pressure of coronary blood flow; the trial aims to address that issue. - Mr MacDonald reported improved energy, the ability to walk and work in the garden, and a return to driving in the weeks after surgery. Summary: Researchers describe the approach as aiming to improve the durability of vein grafts and to reduce the risk of later complications after bypass surgery; the trial represents an early clinical test of that concept. Undetermined at this time.