Increased expression and elevated levels of matrix metalloproteinase-2 (MMP-2) and MMP-9 play a role in impaired cardiac function. These MMPs make for essential targets in the treatment of heart failure, specifically heart failure with preserved ejection fraction (HFpEF).
Calcium/calmodulin-dependent protein kinase II (CaMKII) is involved in the regulation of calcium and its hyperactivation can lead to cardiac issues, particularly with rhythm and contraction.
Immune checkpoint inhibitor (ICI) treatment reduced levels of estrogen and important heart-protective proteins, researchers reported in the Nov. 2, 2022, online edition of Science Translational Medicine. Hormone therapies could target this endocrine-cardiac-immune pathway and mitigate myocarditis risk without affecting treatment responses.
Investigators from 35Pharma Inc. carried out in vivo testing of HS-135, an activin-receptor-based fusion protein (ActRIIB ligand trap), focusing on target engagement, effect on body composition and efficacy in pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH).
New and updated preclinical and clinical data presented by biopharma firms at the American Heart Association Scientific Sessions including: Amgen, Incarda, Innovent, Lexicon, Renibus, Silence.
Verve Therapeutics Inc.’s heart disease candidate, VERVE-101, is the latest gene editing-based therapy to hit a snag at the FDA, which issued a clinical hold, delaying the start of phase I testing in the U.S. News of the hold, which followed preclinical presentations over the weekend at the American Heart Association 2022 meeting, sent shares of Verve (NASDAQ:VERV) falling 30.5% to close Nov. 7 at $21.75.
As they matured from prenatal to adult, heart cells reduced the number of nuclear pores by more than 60%. That decrease protected them from the consequences of stress, but also impaired their ability to regenerate. “These findings are an important advance in fundamental understanding of how the heart develops with age and how it has evolved to cope with stress,” senior author Bernhard Kühn, professor of pediatrics and director of the Pediatric Institute for Heart Regeneration and Therapeutics at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, said in a press release. Kühn and his colleagues published those findings in the Oct. 24, 2022, issue of Developmental Cell.