Dr Fatiha Tabet takes four awards for HDL Research

Dr Fatiha Tabet, a postdoctoral scientist in the Lipid Research Group, has taken four prizes for her research into the beneficial effects of high-density lipoproteins (HDL), otherwise known as ‘good cholesterol’ on the cardiovascular system.

One of the four prizes awarded to Fatiha included a travel grant from the Australian Atherosclerosis Society, which enabled Fatiha to present her findings at the recent International Symposium on Atherosclerosis in Boston. She presented twice at the conference, and was awarded prizes on both occasions. She also went on to present her research at the English Session of the 41st Japan Atherosclerosis Society Annual Meeting in July in Shimonoseki, Japan. As an invited speaker Fatiha was awarded a full travel grant to attend the conference.

Fatiha first gave an oral presentation in Boston entitled ‘the 5A apoA-I mimetic peptide displays anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties mediated by the ABCA1’. This research was then presented in a poster at the Japanese Atherosclerosis Society Annual Meeting. In this research, which saw Fatiha awarded an Educational Grant by the Asia Pacific Federation in the International Atherosclerosis Society, Fatiha discovered the protective properties of a mimetic peptide called 5A. This peptide is a small section of apoA-I, which is the main protein found in HDL that mimic’s HDL’s beneficial effects in protecting from heart disease. While it has been known for a while that HDL helps prevent the development of atherosclerosis (the build-up of fatty materials within arteries), the precise mechanisms of these beneficial qualities are still an area of speculation. Fatiha has been able to identify the 5A peptide as an inhibitor of the inflammation and oxidation at cellular level, which can lead to atherosclerosis. This finding of the novel peptide is considered very valuable as a possible treatment in the prevention of atherosclerosis.

Fatiha secondly presented a poster entitled ‘the anti-inflammatory and anti-oxidant properties of apoA-I from diabetic patients are impaired.’ This poster dealt with Fatiha’s research into possible explanations for why people with diabetes experience an increased risk of developing atherosclerosis. Fatiha’s research, for which she was granted a Young Investigator Award from the International Symposium on Atherosclerosis, discovered that HDL in people with diabetes has an impaired function. Normally HDL acts to reduce the inflammation and oxidation associated with atherosclerosis but subjects with type 2 diabetes experience no such benefit. According to Fatiha’s study, this may explain the increased risk of developing atherosclerosis for people with diabetes and hopefully open up avenues for possible treatments.

Both the International Symposium on Atherosclerosis and the Japan Atherosclerosis Society Annual Meeting, gathered hundreds of scientific experts together to discuss the latest developments and exchange valuable ideas and insights. Fatiha was accompanied by fellow HRI scientists in Boston, including Associate Professors Gilles Lambert and Jeffrey Cohn, Professor Kerry-Anne Rye and Drs Christina Bursill and Alison Heather. Together with Fatiha, HRI scientists were able to present their research findings at an international level and gather ideas from international experts, bringing them a step nearer to their ultimate goal, finding a cure for heart disease, which is the leading cause of death in the world.