Meet the Experts

Learn what a researcher at the forefront of cardiovascular research
has to say about the protective role of Klotho protein on the heart.

November, 2025

Dr. Agnieszka Olejnik works at the Wroclaw Medical University, in Poland. She studies cardiovascular diseases with a specific focus on experimental cardiology, heart ischemia-reperfusion injury, myocardial infarction and the protective role of Klotho protein.

We are pleased to share an interview with Agnieszka, who kindly shared her thoughts about her research with us.

What research area are you currently working on?

I am currently working in the area of experimental cardiology, focusing on the protective role of the Klotho protein during heart ischemia-reperfusion injury (IRI) using an animal ex vivo model.

My research also includes the analysis of Klotho levels in patients with myocardial infarction. I am also working with a Swiss research team on heart transplants in the context of donation after circulatory death.

What does the general landscape of this research area currently look like?

Cardiovascular diseases remain the leading cause of death worldwide, and ischemic heart disease and myocardial infarction are still responsible for a very large proportion of this burden. Despite important progress in reperfusion therapies, damage related to ischemia-reperfusion injury (IRI) is still a major clinical challenge, both in acute myocardial infarction and in cardiac surgery or transplantation.

For this reason, much of the current work in experimental cardiology is directed toward understanding the molecular mechanisms of IRI, including oxidative and nitrosative stress, inflammation, extracellular matrix remodeling, and various forms of cell death, and identifying new cardioprotective strategies that can be translated into routine clinical practice. Within this landscape, interest in Klotho has grown rapidly in recent years, as it is increasingly recognized as a protein with antioxidative, anti-apoptotic, anti-fibrotic and anti-inflammatory properties, and its deficiency has been linked to worse cardiovascular outcomes. My studies using ex vivo and in vivo models show promising cardioprotective effects of Klotho during IRI.

My research is now moving toward validating these findings in patients by analyzing circulating Klotho levels in myocardial infarction and exploring its potential protective role. At the same time, in the area of heart transplantation, there is strong development of donation-after-circulatory-death protocols and ex vivo organ perfusion technologies, where protection against ischemia-reperfusion injury is absolutely crucial. Thus, it creates a very dynamic, translational research environment in which basic mechanistic studies and clinical needs are closely connected.

What are the real-world implications of your research?

My research is ultimately driven by very practical clinical problems: how to limit damage to the heart after myocardial infarction or during transplantation, and how to improve long-term outcomes for patients. If we can better understand how Klotho protects the myocardium during IRI, this may translate into new strategies to reduce infarct size, preserve heart function and prevent the development of heart failure after myocardial infarction.

In the future, Klotho could become both a biomarker to identify high-risk patients and a therapeutic target, for example, as an adjunct to reperfusion therapy or as part of cardioprotective agents used during invasive procedures. The translational aspect is also very important in the context of heart transplantation, especially in the donation after circulatory death model. Here, every minute of ischemia matters, and any intervention that reduces ischemia-reperfusion injury can directly increase the number and quality of transplantable hearts.

By testing cardioprotective approaches in ex vivo models and in collaboration with clinical teams, we aim to contribute to protocols that may one day be implemented in transplant centres. In simple terms, the real-world goal of my work is to help more patients survive acute cardiac events and transplantation with better preserved heart function and better quality of life.

What led you to pursue this research area and what interests you most about it?

Ischemia-reperfusion injury is both devastating and intriguing: despite advances in cardiology, it still represents a major unmet clinical need. This gap between what we can treat and what we still cannot fully prevent motivated me to focus on this field.

I became particularly interested in Klotho because it brings together many mechanisms that are central to cardioprotection — oxidative stress, inflammation, apoptosis, and tissue remodelling. The fact that one protein can influence so many processes, yet remains relatively understudied in the cardiovascular context, made it both scientifically exciting and full of innovation potential.

I work at the intersection of basic molecular mechanisms, ex vivo models, and clinical perspectives. Knowing that discoveries made in the laboratory may one day help reduce heart damage in patients after myocardial infarction or improve outcomes in heart transplantation is extremely motivating. This combination of scientific curiosity and very real clinical relevance is what keeps me passionate about this area.

How long have you been an emka user?

I began working with the emka isolated heart system in 2017, at the start of my PhD studies, and I have continued to use it in my research ever since.

What features of the equipment or software do you find most useful?

I appreciate that the system is complete, intuitive, and easy to use, while still offering the flexibility to adapt protocols to my specific research needs.

The software is very user-friendly and enables simultaneous measurement of multiple hemodynamic parameters, which is essential in cardiac physiology studies. I also value the reliability and stability of the recordings, as well as the clear data visualization and analysis tools, which significantly streamline the workflow.

Overall, emka TECHNOLOGIES provides a robust, integrated environment that supports both routine measurements and more advanced experimental setups.

Is there anything missing in terms of software or equipment that you think would be useful to have?

One feature that I feel is missing in our lab is the optional integrated heating jacket that maintains the heart at a stable physiological temperature during simulated ischemia when buffer flow is stopped. Otherwise, the temperature of the organ tends to drop below 37°C, which can influence the experimental conditions.

Having this option within our system to maintain the heart at a constant temperature, thereby better mimicking in vivo conditions, would be very useful and would further enhance the physiological relevance of the model.

Does emka TECHNOLOGIES specifically add value to your research project?

Yes, emka TECHNOLOGIES adds significant value to my research. The system allows me to perform studies using isolated rat hearts perfused ex vivo with the Langendorff method.

This was crucial for transitioning from a purely cellular model to an animal-based model, which is an essential step in experimental cardiology. In this field, research typically progresses from cell culture to ex vivo and in vivo models and finally to patient samples.

The ability to use an ex vivo heart perfusion model was indispensable for my project, enabling me to investigate cardioprotective mechanisms under highly controlled and physiologically relevant conditions.

Would you recommend Emka TECHNOLOGIES to your colleagues for their ex-vivo studies?

Yes, I would definitely recommend emka TECHNOLOGIES to colleagues conducting ex vivo studies.

The system is comprehensive and self-contained, with all essential components integrated into a single, easy-to-use platform. Its flexibility, offering both Langendorff and working heart modes, allows researchers to exploit the potential of ex vivo cardiac perfusion models fully.

An additional advantage is the reliability and stability of the setup, which minimizes technical challenges and ensures high-quality, reproducible data. This makes the system well-suited not only for routine experiments but also for more advanced and demanding research applications.

What was the reasoning behind selecting your animal model?

The choice of my animal model followed the natural progression of experimental cardiology research. As I mentioned earlier, my work began with a cellular model, so the next logical step was to transition to an ex vivo animal model.

Studying isolated hearts allows me to move beyond single-cell responses and investigate the complex interactions between different cardiac cell types within intact tissue. This tissue-level approach is a necessary stage between cell culture experiments and future in vivo or clinical studies.

The rat model is widely used in experimental cardiology due to its reproducibility, well-characterised physiology, and suitability for ischemia–reperfusion protocols. It provides a robust and reliable platform for assessing the potential protective effects of the Klotho protein.

I would also highlight the usefulness of the emkaA system in this context—its setup made it possible to administer Klotho directly to the isolated hearts in a controlled and precise manner, which was essential for evaluating its cardioprotective properties.

What advice do you have for someone starting out in this research area?

My main advice for someone starting in this field is to be patient and build a strong foundation step by step. Experimental cardiology is complex, and working with cardiovascular models, whether cellular, ex vivo, or in vivo, requires both theoretical understanding and technical skill.

Begin by gaining solid knowledge of cardiac physiology, especially the mechanisms underlying IRI, and spend time carefully learning each experimental technique before moving to more advanced models.

It is also important to start with a clear research question and choose models that truly match the biological processes you want to study. Moving gradually from cells to ex vivo models, and eventually to in vivo or clinical samples, will help you generate meaningful and translatable results.

This field is constantly evolving, and new methods, biomarkers and therapeutic concepts are emerging all the time. Keeping up with the literature and being willing to adapt your approach can significantly advance your research and help you avoid common pitfalls.

What’s next for your lab in your research?

In my next project, I plan to focus on the donation-after-circulatory-death (DCD) model and work toward implementing this approach within our research team at the Wroclaw Medical University.

I am currently collaborating with a group at the University of Bern, and my goal is to transfer this expertise to our laboratory in Wroclaw, where DCD hearts will also be perfused using the emka system. I would like to expand these studies by investigating potential protective factors during DCD, including Klotho protein as well as other promising cardioprotective molecules.

In parallel, my research will continue to involve cardiac organoid models to study IRI. Together, these complementary approaches will help us better understand cardioprotection in both experimental and translational settings.

Any specific recommendations, to finish with?

As a final recommendation, I would encourage researchers to remain open to combining different experimental approaches. Integrating cellular models, organoids, ex vivo systems, and clinical perspectives provides a much more complete picture of cardiac injury and protection.

Collaboration is equally important; thus, working with teams that bring complementary expertise can accelerate progress and open new directions.

And above all, stay persistent and curious. Cardiovascular research is challenging, but each carefully executed experiment brings us closer to improving patient outcomes.

THANK YOU, Dr. OLEJNIK, FOR THIS INTERVIEW!

To learn more about Kloto protein:

Olejnik, A., Krzywonos-Zawadzka, A., Sambor, I. et al. Klotho protein alleviates heart ischemia/reperfusion injury and oxidative stress through regulation of the NOS/MMP pathway. Sci Rep 15, 32299 (2025). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-025-18021-x

If you have any questions about the perfused isolated heart system, please contact us!