Francesca Seta, PhD

Associate Professor, Boston University Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine

Biography

Francesca Seta, PhD, is an Associate Professor in the Vascular Biology Section at the Chobanian and Avedisian School of Medicine. Dr Seta’s laboratory studies the basic mechanisms of vascular diseases, with an emphasis on the biology of the vascular smooth muscle. Her current research seeks to understand the molecular mechanisms of arterial stiffening and aortic aneurysms/dissections, two degenerative vascular conditions for which there are no therapies.
Hardening of elastic arteries is an age- and obesity-related maladaptive remodeling which occurs independently of atherosclerosis but comparably harmful to the cardiovascular system. Dr Seta identified the transcription factor Bcl11b, nearby a genetic locus with genome-wide association with increased arterial stiffness, as a crucial regulator of vascular smooth muscle contractile phenotype and arterial functional integrity.

In addition, her ongoing projects focus on the role of the lysine deacetylase sirtuin-1, known as the “longevity” gene and a molecular target of caloric restriction, in vascular homeostasis. She demonstrated that sirtuin-1 genetic overexpression or pharmacological activation exerts beneficial anti-oxidant and anti-inflammatory effects in the aortic wall, protecting against obesity-induced arterial stiffness and cardiac diastolic dysfunction. On the opposite, lack of sirtuin-1 in vascular smooth muscle cause aortic dissection in mice treated with angiotensin II. Current studies are examining the therapeutic potential of sirtuin-1 against aortic aneurysms in a mouse model of Marfan’s syndrome, a condition characterized by aortic enlargements at risk of rupture or dissection.

Dr Seta's laboratory employs state-of-the art in vivo, ex vivo and in vitro approaches, including high-resolution ultrasound echocardiography, radiotelemetry, high-fidelity pressure catheters and pressurized myography, to assess pulse wave velocity, the gold standard measure of arterial stiffness; active and passive properties of blood vessels; imaging and characterization of aortic aneurysms. The goal of our research is to identify molecular targets to develop novel translational therapies that can prevent and treat dreadful vascular diseases.

Research interests: Arterial Stiffness, Aortic Aneurysm/Dissection, Cardiovascular Physiology, Cardiovascular Disease Related to Metabolic Syndrome, Hypertension, Oxidative Stress, Pulmonary Hypertension, Vascular Biology, and Vascular Diseases.

Publications

  • Published 2/22/2025

    Budbazar E, Balmes A, Elliott D, Tintin LP, Kopp T, Feil S, Feil R, Schäffer TE, Seta F. Pharmacological Activation of NO-Sensitive Guanylyl Cyclase Ameliorates Obesity-Induced Arterial Stiffness. bioRxiv. 2025 Feb 22. PMID: 40027660.

    Read at: PubMed

  • Published 5/22/2024

    Lotfollahzadeh S, Jose A, Zarnaab Shafiq E, El Sherif N, Smith M, Han J, Seta F, Chitalia V. Two methods of isolation of rat aortic smooth muscle cells with high yield. Biol Methods Protoc. 2024; 9(1):bpae038. PMID: 39006461.

    Read at: PubMed

  • Published 2/14/2024

    Balmes A, Rodríguez JG, Seifert J, Pinto-Quintero D, Khawaja AA, Boffito M, Frye M, Friebe A, Emerson M, Seta F, Feil R, Feil S, Schäffer TE. Role of the NO-GC/cGMP signaling pathway in platelet biomechanics. Platelets. 2024 Dec; 35(1):2313359. PMID: 38353233.

    Read at: PubMed

  • Published 1/5/2024

    Lotfollahzadeh S, Yang X, Wu Wong DJ, Han J, Seta F, Ganguli S, Jose A, Ravid K, Chitalia VC. Venous Thrombosis Assay in a Mouse Model of Cancer. J Vis Exp. 2024 Jan 05; (203). PMID: 38251710.

    Read at: PubMed

  • Published 10/15/2023

    Gkousioudi A, Sigaeva T, Yu X, Seta F, Wainford RD, Zhang Y. Compromised homeostasis in aged carotid arteries revealed by microstructural studies of elastic lamellae. J Mech Behav Biomed Mater. 2023 Dec; 148:106187. PMID: 37875040.

    Read at: PubMed

Other Positions

  • Member, Whitaker Cardiovascular Institute
    Boston University
  • Member, Evans Center for Interdisciplinary Biomedical Research
    Boston University
  • Graduate Faculty (Primary Mentor of Grad Students)
    Boston University Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine, Graduate Medical Sciences

Education

  • New York Medical College, PhD
  • Università degli Studi "G. d'Annunzio" Chieti-Pescara, MSc
  • Università degli Studi "G. d'Annunzio" Chieti-Pescara, BS